BLACK  STONE  CONTRACT  TABLET  OF  MARUDUK-NADIN-AHI, 
page  96. 


THE 


HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA, 

BY  THE  LATE 

GEORGE   SMITH,  ESQ., 

OF    THE  DEPARTMENT   OF   ORIENTAL   ANTIQUITIES,    BRITISH   MUSEUM. 

EDITED   BY 

REV.    A.    H.    SAYCE, 

ASSISTANT   PROFESSOR   OF   COMPARATIVE   PHILOLOGY,   OXFORD. 


PUBLISHED   UNDER   THE   DIRECTION   OF 

THE   COMMITTEE    OF   GENERAL    LITERATURE  AND   EDUCATION 

APPOINTED   BY   THE   SOCIETY   FOR   PROMOTING 

CHRISTIAN    KNOWLEDGE. 


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PREFACE, 


MR.  GEORGE  SMITH  left  his  "  History  of  Babylonia  " 
in  so  nearly  complete  a  state,  that  an  editor  had  little 
more  to  do  than  to  see  it  through  the  press,  correct 
one  or  two  errors,  and  make  a  few  additions. 

In  the  performance  of  this  work,  which  has  been 
one  of  mingled  pain  and  pleasure,  I  have  changed 
the  author's  words  and  spelling  only  where  there  was 
an  obvious  oversight,  throwing  other  corrections  into 
footnotes.  My  own  responsibility  for  these,  as  well  as 
for  other  footnotes  containing  additions  to  the  text,  is 
indicated  by  a  capital  S.  I  have  also  to  take  upon 
myself  the  responsibility  of  the  Appendix  upon  the 
meaning  of  the  proper  names,  as  well  as  of  the  table 
of  Babylonian  kings  and  the  larger  part  of  the  first 
introductory  chapter,  of  which  only  the  first  page  or 
two  were  written  by  Mr.  Smith.  Brackets  mark  the 
inserted  portion.  The  Index  is  due  to  the  kindness 
of  Mr.  Greenwood  Hird. 

Two  expressions  which  will  be  met  with  in  the 
book  need  a  short  explanation.  The  abbreviation 
W.  A.  I.  denotes  the  series  of  volumes  containing  the 
cruciform  "  Inscriptions  of  Western  Asia,"  published 


2032973 


6  PREFACE. 

by  the  Trustees  of  the  British  Museum,  and  forming 
a  collection  of  texts  for  the  use  of  Assyrian  students. 
The  "  eponyms  "  mentioned  in  the  course  of  the 
work  refer  to  the  Assyrian  mode  of  reckoning  time. 
Each  year  was  called  after  a  particular  officer  or 
"  eponym,"  who  gave  his  name  to  it,  like  the  Epony- 
mous Archons  at  Athens.  A  new  year  was  marked 
by  a  new  "  eponym,"  and  hence  "  the  eponymy 
of-such-and-such  a  person"  became  equivalent  to 
"the  year  so-and-so."  Those  who  wish  to  investi- 
gate the  subject  further  cannot  do  better  than  con- 
sult Mr.  George  Smith's  "  Assyrian  Canon,"  one  of 
the  last  productions  of  a  scholar  whose  loss  to 
Assyrian  research  cannot  be  over-estimated. 

A.  H.  SAYCE. 


TABLE   OF   CONTENTS, 

List  of  Babylonian  Kings,  with  their  approximate  dates  page    9 
CHAPTER  I. — INTRODUCTION page  13 


CHAPTER  II. — THE  MYTHICAL  PERIOD. 
Origin  and  chronology  of  Babylonian  history — The  ten  ante- 
diluvian kings  of  Berosus — The  Flood — The  Garden  of  Eden 
— The  Izdhubar  or  Nimrod  legends     page    33 


CHAPTER  III. — CHALDEA,  OR  SOUTH  BABYLONIA. 
Nipur  and  Ur — Urukh  and  his    buildings — The  religion  and 
civilization  of  Ur — Dungi — The  kings  of  Karrak — The  rise  of 
Larsa    page    63 


CHAPTER  IV. — UPPER  BABYLONIA. 

Cities  of  Upper  Babylonia — Agu-kak-rimi — Sargon  I. — Naram- 
Sin — Hammurabi— Babylon  made  the  capital — The  successors 
of  Hammurabi,  and  the  Kassite  dynasty — Intercourse  with 
Assyria — The  Assyrian  conquest  of  Babylonia  page  75 


CHAPTER  V. — THE  ELAMITES  IN  BABYLONIA. 

Elam  or  Susiana — Invasions  of  Babylonia  by  Kudur-nanhundi 

and  Chedorlaomer — Kudur-Mabuk — -Flood  at  Babylon — Wars 

between  Babylon  and  Assyria — Nebuchadnezzar  I.  and  Ma- 

ruduk-nadin-ahi — Seven  unknown  kings     page    90 


CHAPTER  VI. — THE  PERIOD  OF  THE  ASSYRIAN  WARS. 
Obscure  kings — Nabu-pal-idina  and  Assur-nazir-pal — Disputed 
succession — Conquests  of  Shalmaneser — The  Chaldees — Ma- 
ruduk-zakir-izkur — Semiramis — The  era  of  Nabonassar — The 
Babylonian  campaigns  of  Tiglath-pileser    page  100 


8  TABLE   OF   CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VII.— MERODACH-BALADAN  AND  THE 

DESTRUCTION  OF  BABYLON. 

Merodach-baladan,  the  Chaldean,  conquers  Babylon — Defeated 
by  Sargon — Sargon  king  of  Babylon  for  five  years — Hagisa — 
Merodach-baladan  retakes  Babylon— Battle  of  Kisu— Belibni 
governor  of  Babylon — Assur-nadin-sum — Sennacherib's  naval 
expedition  to  Nagitu — Revolt  of  Suzub — Elam  devastated  by 
the  Assyrians— Battle  of  Khalule— Destruction  of  Babylon 
by  Sennacherib page  115 


CHAPTER  VIII. — THE  RULE  OF  THE  ASSYRIANS. 
The  successors  of  Assur-nadin-sum — Nabu-zir-napisti-esir — 
Babylon  rebuilt  by  Esar-haddon — Succeeded  by  his  son  Saul- 
mugina — Wars  with  Elam — Revolt  of  Babylonia — Crushed 
by  Assur-bani-pal — Saul-Mugina  perishes  in  the  flames  of  his 
palace — Nabopolassar  appointed  governor — He  marries  the 
daughter  of  Cyaxares  of  Media — The  fall  of  Nineveh  page  137 


CHAPTER  IX. — THE  EMPIRE  OF  NEBUCHADNEZZAR. 
Rise  of  the  Babylonian  Empire — Egypt  and  Media — Nebuchad- 
nezzar, his  conquests  and  buildings — Destruction  of  Jerusalem 
— Invasion  of  Egypt — Siege  of  Tyre — The  kingdom  of  Lydia 
— Babylon  adorned — Character  of  Nebuchadnezzar — Evil- 
Merodach — His  murder — Nergalsharezer  page  152 


CHAPTER  X. — THE  DECLINE  AND  FALL  OF  THE 

BABYLONIAN  EMPIRE. 

Laborosoarchod — Nabonidus — Babylon  fortified — Astyages  and 
Cyrus — Cyrus  besieges  Babylon — Babylon  taken  by  the  Per- 
sians— The  Darius  of  Daniel — Return  of  the  Jews  from  exile 
— Cambyses  and  Smerdis — Darius  Hystaspes — Revolt  and 
capture  of  Babylon — Second  revolt  of  Babylon  under  Arahu 
—Babylon  taken — Decline  of  Babylon  page  170 


LIST  OF  BABYLONIAN   KINGS,  WITH  THEIR 
APPROXIMATE    DATES, 

(Front  Berosus  and  Abydenus.) 

THE   MYTHICAL  PERIOD-BEFORE  THE   DELUGE, 

Alorus  of  Babylon,  "the  Shepherd  of  the  People,"  for  10  sari,  or  36,000  years. 

Alaparus,  or  Alasparus  (?  of  Pantibibla),  for  3  sari,  or  10,800  years. 

Amelon,  or  Amillarus  of  Pantibibla,  for  13  sari,  or  46,801  years. 

Ammenon  of  Chaldea  (in  whose  time  the  Musarus  Cannes,  or  Annedotus,  half 
man  and  half  fish,  ascended  from  the  Persian  Gulf),  for  12  sari,  or  43,200 
years. 

Amegalahis,  or  Megalarus,  or  Metalarus,  of  Pantibibla,  for  18  sari,  or  64,800 
years. 

Daonus,  or  Daos,  the  shepherd,  of  Pantibibla  (in  whose  time  four  double-shaped 
beings,  named  Euedokus,  Eneugannus,  Eneubulus,  and  Anementus,  as- 
cended from  the  sea),  for  10  sari,  or  36,000  years. 

Euedoreskhus,  or  Euedorakhus,  of  Pantibibla  (in  whose  time  another  Annedotus, 
called  Odakon.or  Ano-daphos,  ascended  from  the  sea),  for  18  sari,  or  64,800 
years. 

Amempsimus,  a  Chaldean  of  Larankha,  for  10  sari,  or  36,000  years. 

Otiartes  (Opartes),  or  Ardates,  a  Chaldean  of  Larankha  (called  Ubara-Tutu 
"  the  Glow  of  Sunset,"  of  Surippak,  or  Suripkhu  in  the  inscriptions),  for  8  sari, 
or  28,800  years. 

Sisithrus,  or  Xisuthrus,  his  son,  for  18  sari,  or  64,800  years.  Kronos  (Hea) 
ordered  him  to  build  an  ark,  after  burying  a  history  of  Babylonia  in  Sip- 
para  ;  and  the  Deluge  began  on  the  isth  of  the  month  Daesius  (May  and 
June).  Sisithrus  was  translated  after  the  Deluge,  but  his  companions  re- 
turned to  Chaldea  and  exhumed  the  buried  records  at  Sippara.  From  the 
reign  of  Alorus  to  the  Deluge  were  320  sari,  or  432,000  years. 

AFTER    THE    DELUGE. 

First  Dynasty  of  86  Kings  for  34,080  or  33,091  years,  headed  by  Evekhous,  or 
Evexius,  or  Eutykhius  (identified  with  Nimrod  by  Syncellus)  for  4  neri, 
or  2,400  years,  and  his  son  Comosbelus,  or  Khomasbelus,  for  4  neri  and  5 
sossi.  or  2,700  years. 
Their  five  next  successors  were  : — 

Porus  for  35  years. 
Nekhubes  for  43  years. 
Nabius  for  48  years. 
Oniballus  for  40  years. 
Zinzerus  for  46  years. 

War  of  Titan  (?  Etanna),  Bel,  Prometheus,  and  Ogygus,  against  Kronus 
Building  of  the  Tower  of  Babel,  and  dispersion  of  mankind. 


10 


LIST   OF   BABYLONIAN   KINGS, 


HISTORICAL    PERIOD. 


Second  dynasty  of  8  Median  kings,  for 
224  years,  headed  by  Zoroaster  (?}. 

Third  dynasty  of  n  kings. 

Fourth  dynasty  of  49  Chaldean  kings 
for  458  years. 

Fifth  dynasty  of  9  Arabian  kings  for 
245  years.1 

1.  Mardokentes,  45  years. 

2.  (Wanting.) 

3.  Sisimardakos,  28  years. 

4.  Nabius,  37  years. 

5.  Parannus,  40  years. 

6  .Nabonnabus,  25  years. 
Sixth  dynasty  consisting  of  Semiramis. 
Seventh  dynasty  of  45  Assyrian  kings 

for  526  years. 
Phulus  and  Nabonassar. 

{From  the  Canon  of  Ptolemy. ) 

B.C. 

Nabpnasar  (Nabu-natsir),i4  years,  747 
Nabius  (Nebo-yusapsi),  2  years  .  733 
Chinzirus  and  Porus  (Ucin-zir  and 

Pul),  5  years  .  .  .  .731 
Iluheus,  or  Yugaeus  (Yagina),  5 

years 726 

Mardokempadus  (Merodach-Bala- 

dan),  12  years         .        .        .  721 


709 
704 


Arkeanus  (Sargon),  5  years  . 
Hagisa,  or  Akises,  30  days  . 
Merodach-Baladan  (restored) 

months 704 

Belibus  (Bel-ibni),  3  years    .         .  703 
Apronadius  (Assur-nadin-sum),   6 

years 700 

Rigebelus,  i  year ....  694 
Mesesi-mordakus,  4  years    .        .  693 

[Babylon  destroyed  B.C.  689]. 
Interregnum,  8  years    .         .         .  689 
Assaradinus  (Essar-haddon),      13 

years 681 

Saosduchinus,     or       Sammughes 

(Saul-mucin,  or  Saul-mugina), 

20  years  .....  668 
Kiniladanus  (Assur-bani-pal),  22 

years 648 

Nabo-polassarus,  21  years    .        .  626 
Nabokolasar     (Nebuchadnezzar), 

43  years .  .  .  .  .605 
Ilouarodam  (Evil-Merodach), 

years       .         .         .  _    _. 
Nerikassolasar,    or    Neriglissor 

(Nergal-sarra-yutsur),  4  years  560 
Laborosoarchodus,  3  months  .  556 
Nabonidus,  or  Labynetus  (Nabu- 

nahid),  17  years  .  .  .  556 
Cyrus  takes  Babylon  .  .  539-8 


562 


{Front  the  Inscriptions.) 
AFTER    THE    DELUGE. 


Mythical  Period. 
Ktanna. 
Ner. 

I™    }   the  husbands  of  Istar. 

Banini,  with  his  wife  Milili,  and  seven 
sons,  the  eldest  of  whom  was  Mi- 
mangab,  'the  thunderbolt.' 

Izdhubar,  the  son  of  Dannat,  'the 
strong  woman." 


Dimir-illat,  his  son. 

Mul-ega-nunna. 

Ane-kis. 


Historical  Period. 
Kings  of  Ur. 

B.C.  3000—2000 

Lig-Bagas,  king  of  all  Babylonia. 
[Khassimir  was  one  of  his  viceroys.] 
Dungi,  his  son. 

Su-Agu. 

Amar-Agu. 

Ibil-Agu. 


This  dynasty  is  probably  to  be  identified  with  the  second  Cassite  o  Kosssean 
dynasty  of  the  inscriptions.  In  this  case  the  number  of  kings,  as  well  as  the 
duration  of  their  reigns  given  by  the  copyists  of  Berosus,  will  have  to  be  largely 
increased. 


WITH   THEIR   APPROXIMATE   DATES. 


II 


Viceroys. 

Me-sa-Nana-calama,  son  of  Be .  .  khuk, 
of  Eridhu. 

Idadu,  of  Eridhu. 

Adi-Anu,  of  Zerghul. 

Gudea,  of  Zerghul. 

Enu-Anu,  of  Zerghul. 

Jlu-mutabil,  of  Diru  (of  a  later  date). 

Elamite  Kings  in  Babylonia. 
Cudur-nankhundi.  B.C.  2280 

Chedorlaomer  (Gen.  xiv.). 
Amar-pel,  of  Sumir  (Shinar). 
Arioch,  of  Ellasar. 
Turgal,  of  Gutium. 

Simti-silkhak. 
Cudur-mabug,  his  son. 

Kings  of  Larsa. 
Nur-Rimmon. 
Gasin    .    .    . 
Sin-idina. 


Rim-Agu,  or  Eri-Acu  (Arioch),  son  of 
Cudur-Mabug. 


Kings  of  Karrak. 

B.C.  2000 — 1700 
Gamil-Adar  (also  king  of  Ur). 

Libit-Nana  (also  king  of  Ur). 

Ismi-Dagon  (also  of  Ur). 
Gungunnuv,  his  son. 

Hi    .     .     zat. 


Kings  of  Erech. 

Belat-sunat  (a  queen). 
Sin-gasit. 

(Perhaps  they  preceded  the  kings  of 
Karrak). 


Kings  of  Agane. 
Ai  .  .  . 
Amat-nim  .  .  . 
Sargon,  for  45  years. 
Naram-Sin,  his  son. 
Ellat-Gula,  a  queen. 

(Conquered  by  Khammuragas. ) 


Kings  of  Babylon. 
'Sumu     .     .     . 
Zabu  (built  the  temples  of  Istar  and 

the  Sun  at  Sippara). 
Abil-'Sin. 
'Sin-    . 


First  Cassite  Dynasty. 

Ummikh-zirritu. 
Agu-ragas,  his  son. 
Abi    .     .     his  son. 
Tassi-gurumas,  his  son. 
Agu-kak-rimi,  his  son. 

Kings  of  Babylon. 

Second  Cassite  Dynasty  (probably  the 
Arabians  of  Berosus)  B.C.  1700 — 1300. 
Khammuragas,  cotemporary  with 

Samsu-iluna. 
Ammi-dicaga. 
Curi-galzu  I. 
Simmas-sipak  I. 
Ulam-buryas. 
Nazi-murudas  I. 
Meli-sipak  I. 
Burna-buryas  I. 
Cara-Cit. 

Saga-raktiyas. 
Murudas-sipak. 


Cara-indas   . 
Burna-buryas  II. 
Cara-murudas 
Nazi-bugas 
Curi-galzu  II. 
Meli-sipak  II. 
Merpdach-Baladan  I. 
Nazi-murudas  II. 


about  1430 

.  1430 

.  1410 

.  1400 

•  1380 

•  1350 

•  1325 
.  1300 


Tiglath-Adar 
Rimmon-  .  .  .  bi 
Zamam  a-zacir-idin 


Assyrian  Dynasty. 

B.C.  1270 


1230 

1200 


12 


LIST   OF   BABYLONIAN    KINGS,    ETC. 


Chaldean  Kings. 

Nabu-cudura-yutsur  (Nebuchad- 
rezzar) .... 
Cara-buryas         .... 
Merodach-nadin-akhi  . 
Merodach-sapik-zirrat 
.  .  .  Sadua        .... 

'Simmas-sipak,  the   son  of  Irba-Sin, 

reigned  17  years. 
Hea-mucin-ziri,   the   son   of   Cutmar 

(an  usurper),  for  3  months. 
Cassu-nadin-akhi,  son  of  Sappai,  for  6 

years. 


Dynasty  from  the  Persian  Gulf. 

Ulbar-surci-idina,  son  of  Bazi,  for   15 

years. 
Nebuchadrezzar  II.,  son  of  Bazi,  for 

2  years. 
.  .  .  Sukamuna,  son  of  Bazi,   for  3 

months. 
After  these  an  Elamite  for  6  years. 

Rimmon-pal-idina. 
Nebo-zacira-iscun. 
Irba-Merodach. 


150 

1  20 

IOO 

097 
080 

Sin, 

Merodach-Baladan  II.,  his  son. 
Rimmon-zacira-yutsur. 
Sibir  (invaded  South  Assyria). 

Nebo-baladan        .'       .     '   .  B.C.  880 
Merodach-zacira-izcur  .         .         .  853 
Merodach-balasu-ikbu  .        .        .  820 

Nabu-natsir  .                                    .  747 

Nabu-yusapsi        ....  733 

Ucin-ziru        .         .         .         .  731 

Tiglath-Pileser  (Porus)  of  Assyria  729 

Yagina,  chief  of  the  Caldai  .         .  726 

Merodach-B.dadan  III.,  his  son  .  721 

Sargon  of  Assyria          .         .         .  709 

Merodach-Baladan  restored          .  704 

Bel-ibni 703 

Assur-nadin-sumi  ....  700 

Suzub    .        .        .                 .        .  693 
Essarhaddon  of  Assyria         .         .681 

Saul-mucinu           ....  668 

Assur-bani-pal        ....  648 

Bel-zacira-iscun     .         .         .         .  626 

Nabopalassar         ....  626 

Nebuchadrezzar  III.     .         .         .  605 

Amil-Merodach     ....  562 

Nergal-'sarra-yutsur      .         .         .  560 

Nabu-nahid  .         .                  .         .  556 

Merodach-'sarra-yutsur         .        .  541 

i  Cyrus 538 


HISTORY  OF  BABYLONIA, 


CHAPTER     I. 

INTRODUCTION. 

BABYLONIA  was  bounded  on  the  north  by  Assyria,  on 
the  east  by  Elam,  or  Susiana,  on  the  west  by  the 
Desert  of  Arabia,  and  on  the  south  by  Arabia  and 
the  Persian  Gulf.  The  country  is  watered  by  the 
lower  courses  of  the  Euphrates  and  Tigris,  and  in  fact 
it  may  be  considered  as  entirely  the  gift  of  those 
streams.  Babylonia  is  in  general  a  long  level  tract 
of  alluvial  soil,  which  has  been  deposited  through 
several  thousand  years  at  the  mouths  of  these 
rivers.  Through  the  accumulation  of  new  ground  at 
the  points  where  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates  discharge 
themselves  into  the  Persian  Gulf,  the  Babylonian 
territory  has  steadily  increased  from  age  to  age.  In 
early  Chaldean  times  the  sea  reached  to  Abu-Shahrein , 
in  the  time  of  Sennacherib  it  had  receded  to  Bab- 


!4  HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA. 

Salimiti;  in  the  days  of  Nebuchadnezzar  the  port  was 
moved  out  to  Teredon,  and  since  the  fall  of  Babylon 
many  miles  have  been  added  to  the  land. 

The  inhabitants  of  Babylonia  have  always  mainly 
consisted  of  two  classes,  the  agricultural  population 
and  dwellers  in  towns  on  one  side,  and  the  wandering, 
pastoral,  tent-dwelling  tribes  on  the  other.  The 
greatest  feature  of  the  country  was  its  agriculture, 
which  was  mainly  carried  on  through  artificial  irriga- 
tion, the  whole  country  being  intersected  with  canals, 
some  of  them  navigable  and  of  great  size,  their  banks 
in  some  places  being  from  twenty  to  thirty  feet  high. 
The  long  deserted  lines  of  mounds,  which  even  now 
exist  in  hundreds,  marking  the  lines  of  these  artificial 
rivers,  form  far  more  remarkable  objects  than  the 
ruined  cities  and  palaces.  Once  these  channels 
teemed  with  life  and  industry,  and  were  lined  with 
cities  containing  thousands  of  people ;  now  they  are 
an  arid  desert  waste,  supporting  only  a  few  wandering 
tribes  of  Arabs.  Babylonia  is  without  doubt  the  oldest 
civilized  country  in  Asia,  and  even  outside  that  con- 
tinent only  Egypt  can  rival  it  in  this  respect ;  but  the 
history  of  Babylonia  has  an  interest  beyond  that  of 
Egypt,  on  account  of  its  more  intimate  connection 
with  the  origin  of  our  own  civilization  :  Babylonia 


HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA.  15 

was  the  centre  from  which  civilization  spread  into 
Assyria,  from  thence  to  Asia  Minor  and  Phoenicia, 
from  these  to  Greece  and  Rome,  and  from  Rome  to 
modern  Europe. 

Our  astronomical  system  came  originally  from  the 
plains  of  Chaldea.  The  Babylonians  divided  the  face 
of  the  heavens  into  constellations  of  stars,  and  named 
these  after  their  supposed  influence,  or  from  their 
resemblance  to  various  fantastic  forms. 

Mathematics,  measures  of  time  and  capacity, 
weights  and  scales,  laws  and  government,  and  every- 
thing known  in  ancient  times,  received  study  and 
attention,  while  the  arts  of  building,  sculpture,  paint- 
ing, gem-engraving,  metal-work,  weaving,  and  many 
others  made  proportionate  progress. 

In  spite  of  the  skill  and  knowledge  of  the  Baby- 
lonians, and  their  wonderful  progress  in  arts  and 
sciences,  they  had  a  religion  of  the  lowest  and  most 
degrading  kind.  True  insight  into  natural  phenomena 
was  prevented,  and  progress  beyond  the  surface  of 
things  stopped  by  a  religion  which  had  a  multitude 
of  gods,  who  were  supposed  to  bring  about  in  an 
irregular  and  capricious  manner  all  the  changes  in 
nature  and  all  the  misfortunes  which  happened  to  the 
people ;  thus  foresight  and  medicine  were  neglected, 


1 6  HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA. 

and  unavailing  prayers  and  useless  sacrifices  offered 
to  propitiate  the  deities  who  were  imagined  to  hold 
the  destiny  of  the  human  race  in  their  hands. 

In  the  hands  of  some  of  the  nobler  poets  of  the 
Babylonians  their  mythology  received  a  polish  and 
finish,  and  was  woven  together  into  such  graceful 
mythical  forms,  that  their  works  may  compare  with 
those  of  Greece  and  Rome ;  but  among  the  bulk  of 
the  people  a  low  and  sensual  view  was  taken  of  all 
these  matters,  and  their  worship  was  nothing  better 
than  an  adoration  of  stocks  and  stones. 

The  Babylonians  were  essentially  a  peaceful  race. 
War  was  seldom  indulged  in  by  them,  except  it  was 
forced  upon  them,  either  by  their  political  position 
or  through  the  action  of  states  outside  their  own 
borders.  Only  once  in  their  history  are  they  known 
to  have  made  a  great  empire,  and  that  was  in  the 
time  of  Nebuchadnezzar. 

The  wonderful  system  of  writing,  called,  from  the 
shape  of  the  characters,  cuneiform,  or  wedge-shaped, 
was  invented  by  the  original  Turanian  inhabitants  of 
Babylonia. 

[The  characters  were  originally  hieroglyphics,  repre- 
senting objects  or  combinations  of  objects,  or  symbol- 
izing ideas.  The  pronunciation  attached  to  the 


HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA.  17 

characters  was  accordingly  the  name  of  the  object  or 
idea  which  they  signified  in  the  ancient  Babylonian 
language.  In  course  of  time  the  characters  came  to 
be  used,  not  only  to  represent  objects  and  ideas,  but 
also  to  denote  mere  sounds.  Thus  the  character 
which  signified  "  a  memorial,"  mu  in  the  ancient 
language,  came  also  to  express  simply  the  pronuncia- 
tion of  the  first  personal  pronoun  mu.  When  the 
characters  were  subsequently  borrowed  by  Semitic 
tribes  akin  to  the  Hebrews  and  Arabs,  and  the 
ancestors  of  the  later  Babylonians  and  Assyrians,  the 
sounds  attached  to  the  characters,  which  had  been 
significant  in  the  older  language,  became  so  many 
mere  phonetic  values  ;  mi,  for  instance,  signified 
"black"  in  the  older,  so-called  Accadian,  language, 
but  it  was  simply  a  meaningless  phonetic  value  in  the 
later  Assyrian.] 

The  chief  cities  of  Babylonia  were  the  following: — 

Now  represented  by 

Ur  or  Uru,  literally  "  the  City  "       ...  Mugheir. 

ErechorUruk          Warka. 

Nipur,  the  city  of  Bel          Niffer. 

Larsa,  perhaps  the  Ellasar  of  Genesis 

xiv.  ...         ...         ...         ...  Senkereh. 

c 


1 8  HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA. 

Now  represented  by 

Babylon  or  Babel,  originally  called 

Ca-dimirra,  "  Gate  of  God  "    ...  Hillah. 

Agand,  near  Sippara  Part  of  Sura. 

Tiggaba  or  Kute  (Cuthah) Tel  Ibrahim. 

KisuorKis  Hymar. 

Sippara  or  Sepharvaim,  the  city  of 

the  sun-god          Sura. 

Zirgulla        Zerghul. 

Dur  or  Diru,  literally  "  The  Fortress  "  Ddyr. 

Eridhu,  in  the  south-east  of  Baby- 
lonia           Site  unknown. 

Duran  or  Duban     Site  unknown. 

Karrak  or  Nisin      Site  unknown. 

Amarda  or  Marad Site  unknown. 

Abnunna  or  Mullias  or  Umliyas   ...  Site  unknown. 

Accadian  literature  was  very  extensive,  and  the 
libraries  with  which  the  country  was  stocked  were  full 
of  treatises  on  all  the  branches  of  knowledge  pursued 
by  the  ancient  Chaldeans.  One  of  the  most  famous 
of  these  libraries  was  that  at  Agane',  established  by 
Sargon.  It  contained  the  great  Babylonian  work  on 
astronomy  and  astrology  in  seventy  books,  which 
was  called  the  "  Illumination  of  Bel,"  and  was  after- 
wards translated  into  Greek  by  the  historian  Berosus. 


HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA.  19 

Part  of  the  catalogue  of  the  library  has  come  down  to 
us,  having  been  preserved  in  a  copy  made  for  the 
library  of  Assur-bani-pal,  at  Nineveh,  and  it  includes 
treatises  on  the  conjunction  of  the  sun  and  the  moon, 
on  the  movements  of  Mars  and  Venus,  and  on  comets, 
which  are  termed  "  stars  with  a  tail  behind  and  a 
corona  in  front,"  as  well  as  a  direction  to  the  student, 
who  is  told  to  write  down  the  number  of  the  tablet 
or  book  he  wants  to  consult,  and  the  librarian  will 
thereupon  hand  it  to  him.  It  must  be  remembered 
that  most  of  the  literature  of  the  Babylonians  was 
stamped  upon  the  clay  so  abundant  in  the  country, 
the  clay  being  afterwards  hardened  in  the  fire,  a 
comparatively  small  portion  of  it  being  written  upon 
papyrus,  and  hence  a  clay  tablet  became  synonymous 
with  a  book.  Another  famous  library  was  at  Senkereh, 
or  Larsa,  which  was  rich  in  mathematical  works. 
Some  of  these,  one  a  table  of  squares  and  another 
of  cubes,  are  now  in  the  British  Museum.  Under 
Nebuchadnezzar  Babylon  enjoyed  two  libraries,  and 
there  seems  to  have  been  a  very  old  one  at  Ur.  The 
legends  relating  to  the  Deluge  were  brought  to 
Nineveh  from  the  library  of  Erech,  and  one  of  the 
legends  of  the  Creation  from  the  library  of  Cuthah. 
Attached  to  the  library  was  an  observatory,  and  the 

C    2 


2O  HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA. 

astronomer-royal,  as  we  may  term  him,  had  to  send  fort- 
nightly reports  of  his  observations  to  the  king.  Some 
of  these  we  possess,  and  translations  of  them  will  be 
found  in  the  "  Records  of  the  Past,"  Vol.  L,  155-159- 
A  very  curious  portion  of  the  Accadian  literature  is 
a  collection  of  charms  and  formulae  of  exorcism,  which 
seems  to  belong  to  the  very  earliest  period  of  Baby- 
lonian history.  There  are  magic  formulas  of  all  kinds, 
some  to  ward  off  sorcery,  some  to  bewitch  other 
persons.  Closely  connected  with  these  are  various 
treatises  on  divination  and  lists  of  omens  by  which  it 
was  believed  the  future  might  be  known.  Thus  there 
are  tables  of  omens  from  dreams,  from  births,  from 
the  inspection  of  the  hand  or  the  entrails  of  animals, 
and  from  the  objects  a  traveller  meets  with  on  the 
road.  The  following  translation  will  give  some  idea 
of  these  curious  tables : — 

"  (If  a  blue  dog  enters  a  palace,  that  palace)  will  be 

burned. 
(If),  a  yellow  dog  enters   a  palace,  exit  from  that 

palacr  will  be  baneful. 
(If)  a  spotted  dog  enters  a  palace,  that  palace  will 

give  its  peace  to  the  enemy. 
(TO  a  dog  goes  to  a  palace  and  kills  some  one,  that 

palace  is  deprived  of  peace. 


HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA.  21 

(If)  a  dog  goes  to  a  palace  and  lies  down  on  a  bed, 
that  palace  none  with  his  hand  will  take. 

(If)  a  dog  goes  to  a  palace  and  lies  down  on  the 
throne,  that  palace  will  be  burned." 

Some  of  the  omens  are  hardly  likely  to  happen, 
however  desirable  their  consequences  may  be.  Thus 
we  are  told  that  "when  a  sheep  bears  a  lion,  the  arms 
of  the  king  will  be  powerful,  and  the  king  will  have 
no  rival."  Others  of  them  are  obvious  enough  in 
their  connection ;  "  to  dream  of  bright  fire,"  for 
instance,  ''forebodes  a  fire  in  the  city,"  and  "the 
sight  of  a  decaying  house  "  was  a  sign  of  misfortune 
to  its  occupant.  Here  is  a  specimen  of  the  exorcisms 
adopted  to  drive  away  evil  spirits  and  the  diseases 
they  were  imagined  to  occasion  : — 

"The  noxious  god,  the  noxious  spirit  of  the  neck, 
the  spirit  of  the  desert,  the  spirit  of  the  mountains, 
the  spirit  of  the  sea,  the  spirit  of  the  morass,  the 
noxious  cherub  of  the  city,  this  noxious  wind  which 
seizes  the  body  (and)  the  health  of  the  body :  O, 
spirit  of  heaven,  remember  !  O,  spirit  of  earth, 
remember ! 

"  The  burning  spirit  of  the  neck  which  seizes  the 
man,  the  burning  spirit  which  seizes  the  man,  the 
spirit  which  works  evil,  the  creation  of  the  evil  spirit : 


22  HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA. 

O,  spirit  of  heaven,  remember !     O,  spirit  of  earth, 
remember ! 

"  Wasting,  want  of  health,  the  evil  spirit  of  the 
ulcer,  spreading  quinsey  of  the  gullet,  the  violent 
ulcer,  the  noxious  ulcer :  O,  spirit  of  heaven,  remem- 
ber !  O,  spirit  of  earth,  remember  ! 

"  Sickness  of  the  entrails,  sickness  of  the  heart,  the 
palpitation  of  a  sick  heart,  sickness  of  bile,  sickness  of 
the  head,  noxious  colic,  the  agitation  of  terror,  flatu- 
lency of  the  entrails,  noxious  illness,  lingering  sickness, 
nightmare :  O,  spirit  of  heaven,  remember !  O, 
spirit  of  earth,  remember ! " 

The  most  dreaded  of  the  powers  of  evil  were  the 
seven  "baleful"  spirits  or  winds,  originally  the  storm- 
clouds,  of  whom  it  was  said  by  an  ancient  poet  of 
Eridhu  :  "  Those  seven  in  the  mountain  of  the 
sunset  were  begotten :  those  seven  in  the  mountain  of 
the  sunrise  did  grow  up.  In  the  deep  places  of  the 
earth  have  they  their  dwelling  :  in  the  high  places  of 
the  earth  have  they  their  name."  One  of  the  formulas 
of  exorcism  contains  the  following  hymn  in  reference 
to  them : — 

"  Seven  (are)  they,  seven  (are)  they. 

In  the  abyss  of  the  deep  seven  (are)  they. 

In  the  brightness  of  heaven  seven  (are)  they. 


HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA.  23 

In  the  abyss  of  the  deep  in  a  palace  (was)  their 

growth. 

Male  they  (are)  not,  female  they  (are)  not.1 
Moreover  the  deep  (is)  their  pathway. 
Wife  they  have  not,  child  is  not  born  to  them. 
Law  (and)  kindness  know  they  not. 
Prayer  and  supplication  hear  they  not. 
(Among)  the  thorns  of  the  mountain  (was)  their 

growth. 

To  Hea  (the  god  of  the  sea)  (are)  they  hostile. 
The  throne-bearers2  of  the  gods  (are)  they. 
Disturbing  the  lilies  in  the  torrent  are  they  set. 
Wicked  (are)  they,  wicked  (are)  they. 
Seven   (are)   they,   seven   (are)  they,  seven  twice 

again  (are)  they." 

The  hymns  to  the  seven  wicked  spirits  introduce  us 
to  the  great  collection  of  hymns  to  the  gods,  which 
was  compiled  B.C.  2000,  and  formed  at  once  the 
Chaldean  Bible  and  liturgy.  M.  Lenormant  has 
aptly  compared  it  with  the  Rig- Veda  of  ancient  India. 
Like  the  latter,  it  embodied  hymns  of  various  dates 
and  authorship,  and  it  seems  to  have  been  put 

1  The  Accadian  text,  in  accordance  with  the  respect  paid  to 
women  in  Accad,  reverses  this  order. 

This  illustrates  the  verse  in  the  account  of  the  Deluge 
which  describes  how,  in  the  course  of  the  storm,  "  the  throne- 
bearers  went  over  mountain  and  plain." 


24  HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA. 

together  at  the  time  of  a  great  religious  reform,  when 
the  Shamanistic  beliefs  of  the  early  Accadians  were 
fused  into  the  organized  polytheism  of  their  Semitic 
conquerors.  As  an  example  of  these  hymns  may  be 
quoted  one  of  those  which  are  addressed  to  Samas, 
the  sun-god : — 

"O  Lord,  the  illuminator  of  darkness,  thou  that 
openest  the  face  (of  sorrow), 

Merciful  God,  the  setter  up  of  the  fallen,  the  sup- 
porter of  the  sick, 

Unto  thy  light  look  the  great  gods, 

The  spirits  of  earth  all  of  them  bow  before  thy  face, 

The  language  of  praise  like  one  word  thou  directest, 

The  host  of  their  heads  bow  before  the  light  of  the 
mid-day  sun. 

Like  a  wife  thou  submittest  thyself,  joyfully  and 
kindly  : 

Yea,  thou  art  their  light  in  the  vault  of  the  distant 
heaven, 

Of  the  broad  earth  their  banner  art  thou. 

Men  far  and  wide  bow  before  thee  and  rejoice." 

In  another  hymn,  Merodach,  a  form  of  the  sun-god 
and  benefactor  of  mankind,  is  thus  made  to  address 
the  lightning,  which  is  metaphorically  called  the 
scimitar,  wherewith  he  smote  the  dragon  Tihamtu  in 
the  war  of  the  gods  : — 


HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA.  25 

"  The   sun   of  fifty  faces,  the  lofty  weapon  of  my 

divinity,  I  bear. 
The  hero  that  striketh  the  mountains,  the  propitious 

sun  of  the  morning  that  is  mine,  I  bear. 
My  mighty  weapon,  which  like  the  sacrificial  flame 

devours  in  a  circle  the  corpses  of  the  fighters, 

I  bear. 
The  striker  of  mountains,  my  murderous  weapon  of 

Arm  (the  god  of  the  sky),  I  bear. 
The  striker  of  mountains,  the  fish  with  seven  tails, 

that  is  mine,  I  bear. 
The  terror  of  battle,  the  destroyer  of  rebel  lands,  that 

is  mine,  I  bear. 

The  defender  of  conquests,  the  great  sword,  the  fal- 
chion of  my  divinity,  1  bear. 
That  from  whose  hand  the  mountain  escapes  not,  the 

hand  of  the  hero  of  battle,  I  bear. 
The  delight  of  heroes,  my  spear  of  battle,  (I  bear). 
My  crown  which  strikes  against  men,  the  bow  of  the 

lightning,  (I  bear). 
The  crusher  of  the  temples  by  rebel  lands,  my  club 

and  buckler  of  battle,  (I  bear). 
The  lightning  of  battle,  my  weapon  of  fifty  heads, 

(I  bear). 
The  thunderbolt  of  seven  heads,  like  the  huge  serpent 

of  seven  heads,  (I  bear). 
Like  the  serpent  that  beats  the  sea,  (which  attacks) 

the  foe  in  the  face. 
The  devastator  of  forceful  battle,  lord  over  heaven 


2 6  HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA. 

and   earth,   the   weapon    of  (seven)  heads,    (I 

bear). 
That  which  maketh  the  light  come  forth  like  day,  the 

god  of  the  east,  my  burning  power,  (I  bear). 
The  establisher  of  heaven  and  earth,  the  fire-god,  who 

has  not  his  rival,  (I  bear). 

The  weapon  which  (fills)  the  world  (with)  overwhelm- 
ing fear, 
In  my  right  hand  mightily  made  to  go  ;  (the  weapon 

that)  of  gold  (and)  crystal 
Is  wrought  for  admiration,  my  God  who  ministers  to 

life,  (I  bear)." 

Still  more  remarkable  is  a  penitential  psalm,  from 
which  the  following  verses  may  be  selected  : — 

"O  my  Lord,  my  transgression  (is)  great,  many  (are) 
my  sins. 

O  my  God,  my  transgression  (is)  great,  my  sins  (are 
many), 

O  my  Goddess,  my  transgression  (is)  great,  my  sins 
(are  many). 

O  my  God,  that  knowest  (that)  I  knew  not,  my  trans- 
gression (is)  great,  my  sins  (are  many). 

O  my  Goddess,  that  knowest  (that)  I  knew  not,  my 
transgression  (is)  great,  my  sins  (are  many). 

The  transgression  (that)  I  committed  I  knew  not. 

The  sin  (that)  I  sinned  I  knew  not. 

The  forbidden  thing  did  I  eat. 

The  forbidden  thing  did  I  trample  upon. 


HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA.  2^ 

My  Lord  in  the  wrath  of  his  heart  has  punished  me. 
God  in  the  strength  of  his  heart  has  overpowered  me. 
The  Goddess  upon  me  has  laid  affliction  and  in  pain 

has  set  me. 

God,  who  knew  (that)  I  knew  not,  hath  pierced  me. 
The   Goddess,  who  knew  (that)  I  knew  not,  hath 

caused  darkness. 
I  lay  on  the  ground  and  no  man  seized  me  by  the 

hand. 

I  wept,  and  my  palms  none  took. 
I  cried  aloud ;  there  was  none  that  would  hear  me. 
I  am  in  darkness  and  trouble ;  I  lifted  not  myself  up. 
To  my  God  my  (distress)  I  referred ;  my  prayer  I 

addressed. 

The  feet  of  my  Goddess  I  embraced. 
To  (my)  God,  who  knew  (that)   I   knew  not,  (my 

prayer)  I  addressed. 

****** 

O  my  God,  seven  times  seven  (are)  my  transgressions, 
my  transgressions  (are)  before  me." 

Of  a  very  different  character  is  the  following  prayer 
after  a  bad  dream  (W.  A.  I.,  iv.,  66-2)  : 

"  May  my  God  give  rest  to  my  prayer.  .  .  . 
May  my  Lord  (grant)  a  merciful  return  (from  trouble). 
This  day  directs  unto  death  the  terrors  (of  night). 
O  my  Goddess,  be  favourable  unto  me  and  hear  my 
prayer. 


28  HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA. 

May  she  deliver  (me)  from  my  sin  ;  may  my  offering 

be  accepted. 
May  the  Deity  deliver,  may  she  be  gracious  to  (my) 

gift. 

My  transgression  may  the  seven  winds  carry  away. 
May  the  worm  destroy  (it),  may  the  bird  bear  (it) 

aloft  to  heaven. 

May  the  shoal  of  fish  carry  (it)  away  into  the  river. 
May  their  tail  and  back  receive  (it)  for  me  :  may  the 

waters  of  the  river  as   they  flow  dissolve  (it) 

for  me. 

Enlighten  me  also  like  an  image  of  gold, 
Like  rich  fat  make  me  fat  before  thee. 
Seize  the  worm,  bury  it  alive  :  bury  (it  beneath)  thy 

altar,  thy  multitudes  seize. 
With  the  worm  cause  (me)  to  pass  and  let  me  find 

protection  with  thee. 

Dismiss  me,  and  let  a  favourable  dream  come. 
May  the  dream  I  dream   be  favourable ;    may  the 

dream  I  dream  be  true. 
The  dream  I  dream  to  prosperity  turn. 
May  Makhir,  the  god  of  dreams,  rest  upon  my  head. 
Make  me  great,  and  to  Bit-Saggal,  the  temple  of  the 

gods,  the  temple  of  Adar, 
Unto  Merodach,  the  merciful,  for  prosperity,  to  his 

prospering  hands  deliver  me. 
May  thy  descent  be  made  known,  may  thy  divinity 

be  glorious, 
May  the  men  of  my  city  celebrate  thy  mighty  deeds." 


HISTORY    OF    BABYLONIA.  2  9 

All  these  hymns  are  translated  from  Accadian  into 
Assyrian,  the  original  Accadian  text  being  placed  in  a 
parallel  column  on  the  left-hand  side  of  the  Assyrian 
translation. 

The  mythological  poems  given  in  Mr.  Smith's 
"  Chaldean  Account  of  Genesis "  are  another  proof 
of  the  extent  to  which  poetry  was  cultivated  in  ancient 
Babylonia.  Some  of  these  are  noticed  subsequently, 
more  especially  the  account  of  the  Deluge  and  the 
great  Izdhubar  epic  of  which  it  forms  an  episode. 
This  epic  is  a  redaction  of  a  number  of  independent 
poems  of  earlier  date,  the  thread  which  runs  through 
the  whole  and  connects  it  together  being  the  adven- 
tures of  Izdhubar.  The  epic  was  probably  put 
together  in  its  present  form  about  2000  years  B.C. ; 
it  is  compiled  on  an  astronomical  principle,  being 
divided  into  twelve  books,  each  answering  to  a  sign 
of  the  Zodiac  and  the  Accadian  month  which  was 
named  after  it.  Thus  the  account  of  the  Deluge  is 
introduced  into  the  eleventh  book  or  lay,  which  cor- 
responds with  the  sign  Aquarius  and  the  "  rainy 
month  "  of  the  Accadian  calendar. 

The  people  of  Accad  were  not  neglectful  of  law. 
Probably  the  oldest  table  of  laws  in  existence  is  the 
one  which  was  copied  and  translated  for  the  library 


•jO  HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA. 

of  Nineveh,  and  in  which  we  find  that  the  life  and 
status  of  the  slave  are  recognized  and  provided  for, 
and  the  mother  is  regarded  as  of  more  importance 
than  the  father,  as  is  still  the  case  with  many  Altaic 
tribes.  The  first  two  columns  of  the  table  are  un- 
fortunately too  much  broken  to  be  read ;  the  last  two 
run  as  follows,  beginning,  it  will  be  observed,  with  a 
list  of  legal  precedents  : — 

"  A  certain  man's  brother-in-law  hired  (workmen)  and 
built  an  enclosure  on  his  foundation.  From 
the  house  (the  judge)  expelled  him. 

In  every  case  let  a  married  man  put  his  child  in  pos- 
session of  property,  provided  that  he  does  not 
make  him  inhabit  it. 

For  the  future  (the  judge  may)  allow  a  sanctuary  to 
be  erected  in  a  private  demesne. 

(A  man)  has  full  possession  of  a  sanctuary  on  his  own 
high  place. 

The  sanctuary  (a  man)  has  raised  is  confirmed  to  the 
son  who  inherits. 

Effaced. 

(A  man)  shall  not  (deny)  his  father  and  his  mother. 
(If  a  man)  has  named  a  town,  but  not  laid  the 
foundation-stone,  he  may  change  (the  name). 
This  imperial  rescript  must  be  learnt. 


HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA.  31 

Everything  which  a  married   woman   encloses,  she 

(shall)  possess. 

In  all  cases  for  the  future  (these  rules  shall  hold  good). 

A  decision.     A  son  says  to  his  father :    Thou  art  not 

my  father,  (and)  confirms  it  by  (his)  nail-mark 

(on  the  deed) ;  (the  son)  gives  him  a  pledge 

and  pays  him  silver. 

A  decision.  A  son  says  to  his  mother  :  Thou  art  not 
my  mother ;  his  hair  is  cut  off,  (in)  the  city 
they  exclude  him  from  earth  and  water,  and  in 
the  house  imprison  him. 

A  decision.  A  father  says  to  his  son  :  Thou  art  not 
my  son  ;  in  house  and  brick  building  they 
imprison  him. 

A  decision.  A  mother  says  to  her  son  :  Thou  art  not 
my  son ;  in  house  and  property  they  imprison 
her. 

A  decision.  A  woman  is  unfaithful  to  her  husband, 
and  says  to  him :  Thou  art  not  my  husband ; 
into  the  river  they  throw  her. 

A  decision.  A  husband  says  to  his  wife  :  Thou  art 
not  my  wife  :  half  a  maneh  of  silver  he  weighs 
out  (in  compensation). 

A  decision.  A  master  kills  (his)  slaves,  cuts  them  to 
pieces,  injures  their  offspring,  drives  them  from 
the  land  and  makes  them  sick ;  his  hand  every 
day  shall  measure  out  a  half-measure  of  corn 
(in  requital)." 


32  HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  describe  Babylonian  litera- 
ture in  further  detail.  It  comprised  beast-fables, 
riddles  of  a  somewhat  elementary  kind,  contract- 
tablets,  deeds  of  sale,  geographical  lists,  chronological 
tables,  historical  documents,  copies  of  correspondence, 
and  catalogues  of  the  various  animals,  trees,  stones, 
and  other  objects  known  to  the  Babylonians.  Mathe- 
matics were  not  disregarded,  and  the  figures  of  geo- 
metry were  even  made  to  serve  the  purposes  of  a 
superstitious  divination.  The  insight  thus  afforded 
us  into  the  literary  activity  and  interests  of  a  people 
whose  very  existence  was  almost  forgotten  but  a  few 
years  ago,  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  revelations 
of  the  present  century. 


CYLINDRICAL    SEALS. 


HISTORY    OF    BABYLONIA.  33 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE    MYTHICAL    PERIOD. 

Origin  and  chronology  of  Babylonian  history — The  ten  ante- 
diluvian kings  of  Berosus— The  Flood — The  Garden  of  Edeii 
— The  Izdhubar  or  Nimrod  legends. 

Ix  the  antiquity  of  its  civilization  and  history 
Babylonia  has  no  rival  in  Asia,  and  the  only  country 
in  the  world  which  can  compare  with  it,  in  these 
respects,  is  Egypt. 

The  history  of  Babylonia  has  an  interest  of  a  wider 
kind  than  that  of  Egypt,  from  its  more  intimate  con- 
nection with  the  general  history  of  the  human  race. 
and  from  the  remarkable  influence  which  its  religion, 
its  science,  and  its  civilization  have  had  on  all  subse- 
quent human  progress. 

Its  religious  traditions,  carried  away  by  the  Israel- 
ites who  came  out  from  Ur  of  the  Chaldees,1  have 

1  Gen.  xi.  31. 
r> 


34  HISTORY    OF    BABYLONIA. 

through  this  wonderful  people,  become  the  heritage 
of  all  mankind,  while  its  science  and  civilization, 
through  the  medium  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  have 
become  the  bases  of  modern  research  and  advance- 
ment. 

The  extent  of  country  comprehended  under  the 
name  of  Babylonia  varied  at  different  times,  and  it  is 
impossible  to  fix  the  exact  boundaries  of  the  country 
at  any  period  during  the  empire,  for  alternate  conquest 
and  defeat  caused  the  boundaries  to  fluctuate  con- 
tinually. Generally  speaking,  it  comprehended  the 
country  from  near  the  Lower  Zab  to  the  Persian  Gulf, 
about  400  miles  long,  and  from  Elam,  east  of  the 
Tigris,  to  the  Arabian  Desert,  west  of  the  Euphrates, 
an  average  breadth  of  150  miles. 

Within  this  space,  in  early  times,  there  were  several 
kingdoms ;  and  often,  at  a  later  period,  local  chiefs 
made  themselves  independent ;  for,  the  country,  being 
peopled  by  several  distinct  tribes,  there  was  a  want  of 
nationality  and  patriotism. 

It  is  generally  supposed  that  Babylonia  was  peopled 
in  early  times  by  Turanian  tribes  (tribes  allied  to  the 
Turks  and  Tatars),  and  that  these  were  conquered 
and  dispossessed  by  the  Semites.  This  change  is  very 
doubtful,  although  supported  by  much  learned  argu- 


HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA.  35 

ment,  grounded  on  the  nature  of  the  Babylonian 
language  and  writing.1 

The  history  of  Babylonia,  from  its  own  records,  was 
translated  into  Greek  by  a  Chaldean  priest,  named 
Berosus,  who  lived  in  the  third  century  before  the 
Christian  era.  The  history  of  Berosus  is  lost,  except- 
ing an  imperfect  outline  of  his  chronology  and  an 
account  of  the  antediluvians,  the  Flood,  and  the  time 
of  Nebuchadnezzar  and  his  successors. 

The  fragments  of  Berosus  are  so  few,  and  it  is  so 
difficult  to  arrange  his  epochs,  that  they  afford  little 
aid  in  composing  the  history  of  the  country. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Babylonian  and  Assyrian 

1  I  have  left  the  contradiction  between  this  passage  and  that 
on  p.  1 6,  because  it  expresses  Mr.  Smith's  hesitation  on  the 
matter.  Whether  or  not  the  early  inhabitants  and  civilizers  of 
Chaldea  were  allied  to  the  Turks  and  Tatars  of  the  present  day 
— a  point  which  is  extremely  doubtful — at  all  events  they  spoke 
an  agglutinative  language ;  that  is,  a  language  in  which  the 
relations  of  grammar  are  denoted,  not  by  inflections,  but  by  the 
attachment  of  independent  or  semi-independent  words.  The 
Accadian  language,  as  it  is  usually  termed,  was  closely  allied  to 
the  dialects  spoken  in  Elam,  as  well  as  to  that  of  the  Protomedic 
subjects  of  the  Persian  kings.  M.  Lenormant  has  argued  ably 
in  behalf  of  the  view  that  this  whole  group  of  languages,  though 
standing  by  itself,  yet  ultimately  goes  back  to  the  same  source 
as  the  Finnic  family  of  tongues. — S. 
D  2 


36  HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA. 

inscriptions  which  supply  most  of  our  historical  infor- 
mation, give  very  little  insight  into  the  chronology  ; 
so,  even  with  the  aids  from  ancient  authors,  the  earlier 
part  of  the  history  is  merely  fragmentary.  The 
Babylonian  histories  commenced  with  a  description 
of  the  creation,  similar  in  some  respects  to  the  one  in 
Genesis,  and  then  went  on  to  relate  that  the  Baby- 
lonians were  first  ruled  by  a  king  named  Alorus,  in 
whose  time  there  came  up  out  of  the  Persian  Gulf  a 
being  named  Cannes,  who  was  half  man,  half  fish, 
something  like  the  Dagon  of  the  Philistines.  Cannes 
is  said  to  have  taught  the  Babylonians  all  their  learn- 
ing, and  to  have  imparted  to  them  the  arts  of  civilized 
life. 

According  to  the  Babylonians,  there  were  ten  kings, 
beginning  with  Alorus,  before  the  Flood ;  these  ten 
agreeing  in  number  with  the  ten  patriarchs  in  Genesis  ; 
but  an  extravagant  length  was  given  by  the  Babylo- 
nians to  this  period,  their  statement  being  that  the  ten 
kings  reigned  for  432,000  years. 

Beside  the  creature  Cannes,  they  related  that 
several  similar  beings  came  out  of  the  Persian  Gulf; 
and  they  otherwise  adorned  their  narrative  with 
marvels  and  legends  to  make  up  for  the  total  want  of 
real  histon*. 


HISTORY    OF    BABYLONIA.  37 

The  ninth  of  the  kings  before  the  Flood,  according 
to  the  Babylonians,  was  named  Ubara-tutu,  and  he 
corresponds  in  position  to  the  Lamech  of  the  Bible, 
who  was  father  of  Noah. 

Ubara-tutu  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Adrahasis,  or 
Hasisadra,  who  corresponds  to  the  Noah  of  the 
Bible.  In  his  time  it  is  recorded  that  the  whole  of 
mankind  had  become  wicked,  and  the  Babylonian 
deities  resolved  to  destroy  the  earth  by  a  deluge. 
Hasisadra  being  a  pious  man,  was  commanded  to 
build  an  ark,  wherein  himself,  his  family,  and  friends, 
and  pairs  of  all  animals  should  be  preserved  during 
the  Flood.  The  Chaldean  monarch  accordingly  built 
this  vessel,  and  in  it  was  saved. 

The  Chaldean  story  of  the  Deluge  is  so  remarkable 
that  I  repeat  it  here  as  it  is  given  on  the  tablets, 
namely  as  a  speech  put  into  the  mouth  of  Hasisadra, 
or  Noah.  I  append  a  series  of  notes  of  the  parallel 
passages  in  Genesis  for  comparison. 


38  HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA. 


Extract  from  the  Eleventh    Tablet  of  the  Izdhubar 
Legends,  giving  the  Chaldean  account  of  the  Deluge. 

COLUMN  I. 

Line 

8.  Xisithrus  *  to  him  also  said  even  to  Izdhubar  : 

9.  "Be  revealed  to  thee  Izdhubar  the  concealed 

story, 

10.  and  the  oracle  of  the  gods  to  thee  be  related  even 

to  thee. 

11.  The   city   Surippak  the  city  which  thou   estab- 

lishedest  .  .  .  situated, 

1 2.  that  city  is  ancient  and  the  gods  (dwell)  within  it 
13 their  servant  the  great  gods 

14 the  god  Anu 

15 the  god  Elu 

1 6 the  god  Ninip 

17.  and  the  god  ....  the  lord  of  Hades, 

1 8.  their  will  he  repeated  to  the  midst  (of  it),  and 

19.  I  his  will  was  hearing  and  he  spake  to  me  : 

1  Xisithrus,  or  rather  Xisuthrus,  is  the  name  given  to  the 
Babylonian  Noah  by  Berosus.  It  is  questionable  whether  Mr. 
Smith  was  right  in  regarding  the  words  adra  khasis,  which  occur 
in  the  Flood  tablets,  as  the  name  of  the  hero  of  them.  The  name 
of  the  latter  is  usually  written  with  two  ideographs,  read  Tam-zi 
in  Accadian,  the  first  of  which  signifies  "  the  sun,"  and  the  second 


HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA.  39 

Line 

20.  Surippakite,  son  of  Ubara-tutu, 

21.  .  .  .  make  a  ship  after  this  (manner) 

22.  ...  I  remember  the  sinner1  and  life  .  .  . 

23.  cause  to  ascend  the  seed  of  life  all  of  it,  to  the 

midst  of  the  ship. 

24.  The  ship  which  thou  shalt  make 

25.  600  (?)  cubits  shall  be  the  measure  of  its  length, 

(and) 

26.  60  ?    cubits   the  amount  of  its  breadth  and  its 

height. 

27.  .  .  .  into  the  deep  launch  it. 

28.  I  perceived  and  said  to  Hea  my  lord  : 

29.  the  ship  making  which  thou  commandest  thus, 

30.  when  (?)  by  me  it  shall  be  done, 

31.  [I  shall  be  derided  by]  young  men  and  old  men. 

32.  Hea  opened  his  mouth  and  spake  and  said  to  me 

his  servant, 

33 thou  shalt  say  unto  them, 

34 he  has  turned  from  me  and 

35 fixed  over  me 

36 like  caves  .... 

37 above  and  below  .  .  . 

38 close  the  ship  .... 

39 the  flood  which  I  will  send  to  you, 

40.  into  it  enter  and  the  door  of  the  ship  turn. 

41.  Into  the  midst  of  it,  thy  grain,  thy  furniture,  and 

thy  goods, 

1  Or  "seed." 


40  HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA. 

Line 

42.  thy  wealth,  thy  women  servants,  thy  female  slaves. 

and  the  young  men, 

43.  the  beasts  of  the  field,  the  animals  of  the. field. 

all  I  will  gather  and 

44.  I  will  send  to  thee,  and  they  shall  be  enclosed  in 

thy  door. 

45.  Xisithrus  his  mouth  opened  and  spake  and 

46.  said  to  Hea  his  lord  ; 

47.  whosoever  the  ship  will  not  make  .... 

48.  in  the  earth  enclosed  .... 

49.  ...  may  I  see  also  the  ship  .  .  . 

50.  ...  on  the  ground  the  ship  .  .  . 

51.  the  ship  making  which  thou  commandest  (thus) 

52.  which  in  .... 


COLUMN  II. 

1.  strong  .... 

2.  on  the  fifth  day  ....  it 

3.  in  its  circuit  14  measures  (in)  its  frame 

4.  14  measures  it  measures  .  .  .  over  it 

5.  I  placed  its  roof,  it  ...  I  enclosed  it. 

6.  I  rode  in  it  for  the  sixth  time,  I  (examined  its  ex- 

terior) for  the  seventh  time, 

7.  its  interior  I  examined  for  the  eighth  time  ; 

8.  with  planks  the  water  from  within  it  I  stopped, 

9.  I  saw  rents  and  the  wanting  parts  I  added, 


HISTORY    OF    BABYLONIA.  41 

Line 

10.  three   measures   of  bitumen  I  poured  over   the 

outside, 

11.  three   measures  of  bitumen  I  poured  over  the 

inside, 

12.  three  .  .  .  men  carrying  its  baskets?  they  con- 

structed boxes, 

13.  I  gave?  the  boxes  for  which  they  had  sacrificed 

an  offering 

14.  two  measures  of  boxes  I  had  distributed  to  the 

boatmen,1 

15.  to  .  .  .  .  were  sacrificed  oxen 
1 6 for  every  day 

17.  in  ....  wine  in  receptacles  and  wine 

18.  (I  collected)  like  the  waters  of  a  river  and 

19.  (food)  like  the  dust?  of  the  earth  also 

20.  (I  collected  in)  boxes,  with  my  hand  I  placed. 

21.  ...  Shamas  .  .  .  material  of  the  ship  completed, 
22 strong  and 

23.  the  reed  oars  ?  of  the  ship  I  caused  to  bring  above 

and  below. 
24 they  went  in  two-thirds  of  it. 

25.  All  I  possessed  the  strength  of  it,  all  I  possessed 

the  strength  of  it  in  silver, 

26.  all  I  possessed  the  strength  of  it  in  gold, 

27.  all  I  possessed  the  strength  of  it,  even  the  seed 

of  life,  the  whole 

1  The  translation  of  these  lines  is  very  doubtful. — S. 


42  HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA. 

Line 

28.  I  caused  to  go  up  into  the  ship,  all  my  male  ser- 

vants and  my  female  servants, 

29.  the  beast  of  the  field,  the  animal  of  the  field,  the 

sons  of  the  people,  all  of  them  I  caused  to 
go  up. 

30.  A  flood  Shamas  made  and 

31.  he  spake  saying  (?) :  in  the  night  I  will  cause  it  to 

rain  from  heaven  heavily, 

32.  enter  into  the  midst  of  the  ship  and  shut  thy  door. 

33.  That  flood  happened  (of  which) 

34.  he  spake  saying :  in  the  night  I  will  cause  it  to 

rain  from  heaven  heavily. 

35.  In  the  day  I  celebrated  his  festival, 

36.  during  the  day  watch  fear  I  had  to  watch. 

37.  I  entered  into  the  midst  of  the  ship  and  shut  my 

door. 

38.  To  close  the  ship  to   Buzur-sadi-rabi  the  boat- 

man 

39.  the  palace  (the  ark)  I  gave  with  its  goods. 

40.  A  storm  at  dawn  in  the  morning 

41.  arose,  from  the  horizon  of  heaven  extending  and 

wide.1 

42.  Vul 2  in  the  midst  of  it  thundered,  and 

43.  Nebo  and  Saru  went  in  front, 

1  Rather  "  rain  and  darkness." — S. 

2  Read  Rimmon  (Assyrian  Ramman).     Rimmon  should  be 
substituted  for  Vul  wherever  it  occurs. — S. 


HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA.  43 

Line 

44.  the    throne-bearers l    went   over  mountains  and 

plains, 

45.  the  destroyer  Nergal  overturned, 

46.  Ninip  went  in  front  (and)  cast  down, 

47.  the  spirits  of  earth  carried  destruction, 

48.  in  their  glory  they  swept  the  earth  ; 

49.  the  flood  of  Vul  reached  to  heaven. 

50.  The  bright  earth  to  a  waste  was  turned. 


COLUMN  III. 

1.  The  surface  of  the  earth  like  ....  it  swept, 

2.  (it  destroyed)  all    life   (from)  the   face    of  the 

earth  .  .  . 

3.  the  strong  (deluge)  over  the  people,  reached  to 

(heaven). 

4.  Brother  saw  not  his  brother,  it  did  not  spare  the 

people.     In  heaven 

5.  the  gods  feared  the  flood,  and 

6.  sought  refuge ;  they  ascended  to  the  heaven  of 

Arm.2 

7.  The  gods  like  dogs  fixed  in  droves  were  prostrate. 

8.  Spake  Ishtar  like  a  child,3 

1  That  is,  the  seven  wicked  spirits  or  storm-gods. 
'  That  is,  the  highest  heaven. 
3  Rather  "mother." 


44  HISTORY    OF    BABYLONIA. 

Line 
9.  uttered  Rubat l  her  speech  : 

10.  All  to  corruption  are  turned,  and 

1 1.  when  I  in  the  presence  of  the  gods  had  prophesied 

evil, 

1 2.  thus  I  prophesied  in  the  presence  of  the  gods  evil  : 

13.  to  evil  are  devoted  (all)  my  people,  and  I  pro- 

phesied : 

14.  I  the  mother  have  begotten  my  people,  and 

1 5.  like  the  young  of  the  fishes  they  fill  the  sea. 

1 6.  The  gods  concerning  the  spirits  of  earth  were 

weeping  with  her, 

17.  the  gods  in  seats  were  seated  in  lamentation, 

1 8.  covered  were  their  lips  for  the  coming  flood. 

19.  Six  days  and  nights 

20.  passed ;  the  wind,  deluge,  and  storm  overwhelmed. 

21.  On  the  seventh  day  in  its  course  (the  rain  from) 

heaven  (and)  all  the  deluge 

22.  which  had  destroyed  like  an  earthquake, 

23.  quieted.  The  sea  one  caused  to  dry,  and  the  wind 

and  deluge  ended. 

24.  I  perceived  the  sea  making  a  tossing;2 

25.  and   the  whole  of  mankind  was  turned  to  cor- 

ruption, 

26.  like  reeds  the  corpses  floated. 

27.  I  opened  the  window,  and  the  light  broke  over 

my  face, 

1  That  is,  "Great  Lady,"  Istar. 

2  Rather  "  noise."— S. 


HISTORY    OF    BABYLONIA.  45 

Line 

28.  it  passed,  and  I  sat  down  and  wept ; 

29.  over  my  face  flowed  my  tears. 

30.  I  perceived  the  shore  and  the  boundary  of  the  sea, 

31.  for  twelve  measures  the  land  rose. 

32.  To  the  country  of  Nizir  went  the  ship ; 

33.  the  mountain  of  Nizir  stopped  the  ship,  and  to 

pass  over  it,  it  was  not  able. 

34.  The  first  day  and  the  second  day  the  mountain 

of  Nizir  stopped  it. 

35.  The  third  day  and  the  fourth  day  the  mountain 

of  Nizir  stopped  it. 

36.  The  fifth  and  sixth,  the  mountain  of  Nizir  stopped 

it. 

37.  On  the  seventh  day  in  the  course  of  it 

38.  I  sent  forth  a  dove,  and  it  left.     The  dove  went 

and  turned  and 

39.  a  resting-place  it  could  not  enter,  and  it  returned. 

40.  I  sent  forth  a  swallow  and  it  left.     The  swallow 

went  and  turned  and 

41.  a  resting-place  it  could  not  enter,  and  it  returned. 

42.  I  sent  forth  a  raven  and  it  left 

43.  The  raven  went  and  the  corpses  which  were  on 

the  water  it  saw  and 

44.  it  did  eat,  it  swam,  it  wandered  away,  it  did  not 

return. 

45.  I  sent  forth  (the  animals)  to  the  four  winds,  I 

poured  out  a  libation, : 

46.  I  built  an  altar  on  the  peak  of  the  mountain, 


46  HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA. 

Line 

47.  by  sevens  jugs  of  wine  I  took, 

48.  at  the  bottom  of  them  I  placed  reeds,  pines,  and 

spices. 

49.  The  gods  collected  at  its  burning,  the  gods  col- 

lected at  its  good  burning ; 

50.  the  gods  like  flies  over  the  sacrifice  gathered. 

51.  From  of  old  also  Rubat  in  her  course 

52.  carried   the  great  brightness?   which  Anu   had 

created.     When  the  glory  .... 

53.  those  gods,  the  charm  of  crystal  round  my  neck 

may  I  not  leave ; 

COLUMN  IV. 

1.  in  those  days  I  desire'd  that  for  ever  may  I  not 

leave  them. 

2.  May  the  gods  come  to  my  altar, 

3.  May  Elu  not  come  to  my  altar, 

4.  for  he  did  not  consider  and  had  made  a  deluge, 

5.  and  my  people  he  had  consigned  to  the  deep.  A 

6.  From  what  time  also  Elu  in  his  course 

7.  saw,  the  ship  Elu  took;  with  anger  he  filled  the 

gods  even  spirits  of  earth  : 

8.  Let  not  life  ever  come  out,  let  not  a  man  be 

saved  from  the  deep.2 

9.  Ninip  his  mouth  opened,  and  spake ;  he  said  to 

the  warrior  Elu : 

1  Rather  "  a  vessel."— S.       2  Rather  "  in  the  vessel."— S. 


HISTORY    OF   BABYLONIA.  47 

Line 

i  o.  Who  then  will  ask  Hea  the  matter  he  has  done, 

n.  and  Hea  knowing  also  all  things  .... 

12.  Hea  his   mouth  opened  and  spake,  he  said  to 

the  warrior  Elu  : 

13.  Thou  just  prince  of  the  gods,  warrior  .... 

1 4.  When  thou  angry  becomest,  a  deluge  thou  makest 

15.  the  doer  of  sin  punish  his  sin,  the  doer  of  evil 

punish  his  evil, 

1 6.  the  just  prince  let  him  not  be  cut  off,  the  faithful 

let  him  not  be  (destroyed) ; 

17.  instead  of  thee  making  a  deluge,  may  lions  in- 

crease l  and  men  be  reduced  ; 

1 8.  instead  of  thee  making  a  deluge,  may  leopards  ~ 

increase  and  men  be  reduced ; 

19.  instead  of  thee  making  a  deluge,  may  a  famine 

happen  and  the  country  be  destroyed ; 

20.  instead  of  thee  making  a  deluge,  may  pestilence 

increase  and  the  country  be  destroyed  ! 

21.  I  did  not  peer  into  the  oracle  of  the  great  gods. 

22.  Adrahasis  a  dream  they  sent,3  and  the  oracle  of 

the  gods  he  heard. 

23.  When  his  judgment  was  accomplished,  Elu  went 

up  to  the  midst  of  the  ship. 

24.  He  took  my  hand  and  raised  me  up, 

1  Rather  "come."— S.  2  Rather  "hyaenas."— S. 

3  Rather  "caused  to  reveal  to  him."     See  the  note  on  the 
name  Xisithrus,  p.  38. — S. 


48  HISTORY    OF   BABYLONIA. 

Line 

25.  he  caused  to  raise  and  to  bring  my  wife  to  my 

side.;  .  , 

26.  he  made  a  bond,  and  established  in  a  covenant 

he  blesses  us 

27.  in   the   presence  of  Hasisadra  and  the  people, 

thus: 

28.  When  Hasisadra,  and  his  wife,  and  the  people  to 

be  like  the  gods  are  carried  away ; 

29.  then  shall  dwell  Hasisadra  in  a  remote  place  at 

the  mouth  of  the  rivers. 

30.  They  took  me  and  in  a  remote  place  at  the  mouth 

of  the  rivers  they  seated  me. 

This  extract  from  one  of  the  cuneiform  tablets  will 
serve  to  show  the  light  which  these  documents  throw 
on  the  Bible.  The  Chaldean  legend  of  the  Flood  was 
in  existence  at  least  2,000  years  before  the  Christian 
era,  and  the  scenes  of  the  series  of  legends  to  which 
it  belongs  are  carved  on  some  of  the  most  ancient 
Babylonian  seals. 

The  Bible  says  nothing  about  the  native  country 
of  Noah.  The  Chaldean  legend,  line  2,  relates  that 
he  belonged  to  Surippak,  a  port  near  the  entrance  of 
the  Euphrates  into  the  Persian  Gulf.  The  Chaldean 
legend  agrees  with  Genesis  vi.  in  ascribing  the  Deluge 
to  the  anger  of  the  Deity  at  the  wickedness  of  the 


HISTORY    OF    BABYLONIA.  49 

world  ;  and  the  name  Hasisadra,  given  to  Noah  in  the 
Chaldean  story,  expresses  the  character  of  the  patri- 
arch "reverent  and  attentive."1 

The  command  to  build  the  ark,  in  lines  21  to  44, 
may  be  compared  with  Genesis  vi.  14-21.  Unfor- 
tunately the  size  of  the  ark  according  to  the  Chaldean 
story  is  lost,  so  that  we  cannot  compare  the  numbers 
with  the  statement  of  Genesis.  The  order  to  take 
the  animals  into  the  ark  in  line  43  parallels  Genesis 
vi.  19,  20,  and  vii.  2,  3.  The  pouring  bitumen  over 
the  inside  and  outside  of  the  vessel  (col.  ii.  lines  10, 
n),  is  the  same  as  Gen.  vi.  14.  The  utter  destruc- 
tion of  the  world  is  given  in  col.  ii.  line  42  to  col.  iii. 
line  26,  and  Gen.  vii.  17-23.  With  respect  to  the 
duration  of  the  Deluge,  there  is  a  remarkable  dif- 
ference between  the  Bible  and  the  Chaldean  story. 
Here  we  may  compare  col.  iii.  lines  21,  34-38,  and 
Gen.  vii.  ii,  17,  24,  and  viii.  3-6,  10,  12-14.  The 
sending  out  of  the  raven  is  in  col.  iii.  lines  42-44, 
and  Gen.  viii.  7 ;  the  dove  in  lines  38,  39,  and  Gen. 
viii.  8-12;  but  there  is  added  in  the  Chaldean  ac- 
count the  sending  out  of  a  swallow  (lines  40,  41).  In 
the  Bible  (Gen.  viii.  4),  the  ark  is  said  to  have  rested 

1  Rather  "  Then  intelligently. "-  S. 
E 


50  HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA. 

on  the  mountains  of  Ararat.  This,  however,  I  be- 
lieve does  not  mean  the  mountain  now  called  Ararat, 
but  a  mountainous  country  south  of  this,  and  near 
the  present  Lake  Van.  From  this  region  several 
mountain-chains  run  down  towards  the  Persian  Gulf, 
on  the  east  of  the  Tigris.  In  this  region,  to  the  east 
of  Assyria,  was  the  land  of  Nizir,  where  the  ark  rested, 
according  to  the  Chaldean  account  (col.  iii.  lines 
32-36).  There  must  be,  however,  at  present,  con- 
siderable difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  exact  locality 
of  the  descent  from  the  ark,  as  the  limits  of  these 
geographical  names  are  not  defined. 

The  sacrifice  of  Noah  (Gen.  viii.  20),  and  the  plea- 
sure and  blessing  of  God,  reappear  in  col.  iii.  lines 
46-50  ;  and  the  resolution  of  the  Lord  not  to  destroy 
the  world  again  by  a  flood  compares  with  the  state- 
ment in  the  inscription  (col.  iv.  lines  17-20).  The 
covenant  and  blessing  of  Noah  (Gen.  ix.  1-17)  is 
given  in  col.  iv.  lines  26-29  '>  but  this  includes  a  sin- 
gular difference  from  the  Biblical  text.  In  the  book 
of  Genesis  (v.  24)  it  is  related  that  Enoch  was  trans- 
lated. This  remarkable  passage  is  illustrated  by  col. 
iv.  lines  28-30,  and  other  places ;  but  the  Chaldean 
legend  makes  it  Hasisadra  or  Noah  who  is  translated 
for  his  piety,  and  not  Enoch. 


HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA.  51 

The  whole  of  the  Chaldean  account  of  the  Deluge 
is  worthy  of  minute  comparison  with  that  in  the  book 
of  Genesis,  and  will  be  found  interesting,  both  in  the 
points  where  it  agrees  with  and  those  where  it  differs 
from  the  Biblical  record.  Until  a  few  years  back 
there  was  no  confirmation  of  the  book  of  Genesis 
earlier  than  the  time  of  Alexander  the  Great ;  now, 
however,  a  flood  of  light  is  thrown  on  it  by  the 
cuneiform  inscriptions,  and  it  is  highly  probable  that 
much  more  of  the  earlier  part  of  Genesis  will  be 
found  in  these  Chaldean  texts.  Fragments  have  been 
found  of  the  account  of  the  creation  and  building  of 
the  tower  of  Babel,  and  I  have  reason  to  believe  that 
these  are  only  parts  of  a  series  of  histories  giving  full 
accounts  of  these  early  periods.1 

1  A  full  account  of  these  tablets  is  given  in  Mr.  Smith's 
' '  Chaldean  Account  of  Genesis. "  Two  versions  of  the  history 
of  the  creation  have  been  discovered,  one  an  older  one,  which 
seems  to  agree  with  that  adopted  by  Berosus,  and  another  which 
must  belong  to  a  much  later  period,  probably  the  seventh  cen- 
tury B.C.  According  to  the  first  version,  the'earth  was  originally 
a  desert,  and  was  then  inhabited  by  nondescript  creatures — 
men  with  the  bodies  of  birds  and  the  faces^  of  ravens — until  it 
was  fitted  for  the  abode  of  the  present  races  of  riving  beings. 
The  second  version  of  the  account  of  the  creation  agrees  very 
closely  with  that  recorded  in  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis.  The 
E  2 


52  HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA. 

The  history  of  no  other  country  is  so  likely  to  throw- 
light  on  the  earlier  parts  of  the  Bible  as  Babylonia, 
for  here  it  is  stated  that  the  garden  of  Eden  was 
situated,  the  first  home  of  the  human  race  (Gen.  ii. 
8,  17).  Four  rivers  are  given  in  this  passage;  two, 
the  Euphrates  and  Tigris,  are  well  known ;  the  other 
two  are  considered,  with  great  probability,  to  be  two 
other  streams  of  the  same  river  system  in  Babylonia. 
Sir  Henry  Rawlinson  has  identified  Eden  with  the 
region  of  Gan-duni,  or  Kar-dunias,  in  Babylonia,  an 

world  is  stated  to  have  been  made  in  six  successive  days,  the 
sun,  moon,  and  stars  being  formed  on  the  fourth  day,  and  the 
animals  probably  on  the  sixth.  The  account  begins  in  this 
way  : — 

"At  that  time  the  heaven  above  (was)  unnamed, 

In  the  earth  beneath  a  name  (was)  unrecorded  : 

Chaos,  too  (was),  unopened  around  them. 

By  name  the  mother  Tihamtu  (the  Deep)  (was)  the  begetter  of 

them  all. 
Their  waters  in  one  place  were  not  embosomed,  and  the  fruitful 

herb  (was)  uncollected,  the  marsh  plant  (was)  ungrown. 
At  that  time  the  gods  (the  stars)  were  not  made  to  go  ;  none  of 

them  by  name  (were)  recorded  ;  order  (was)  not  among 

them. 
Then  were  made  the  (great)  gods;    (and  these)  Lakhmu  and 

Lalchamu  caused  to  go ;   until  they  were  grown  '(they 

nurtured  them). 
The  gods  Assur  and  Kissar  were  made  (by  their  hands). 


HISTORY    OF    BABYLONIA.  53 

identification  which,  although  not  proved,  has  many 
probabilities  in  its  favour.  In  the  inscriptions  of 
Tiglath-Pileser  II.  it  is  stated  that  the  land  of  Gan- 
dunias  was  watered  by  four  rivers — the  Euphrates,  the 
Tigris,  the  Ukni,  and  the  Surappi. 

A  length  of  days,  a  long  (time  passed,  and)  the  gods  Anu  (Bel, 
and  Hea  were  created),  the  gods  Assur  and  Kissar  (begat 
them)." 

Connected  with  these  creation  tablets  are  others  which  describe 
the  fall  of  man  brought  about  by  the  tempter,  the  great  dragon 
Tiamat  (Tihamtu),  or  the  "Deep,"  as  well  as  another  series, 
which  recounts  the  war  of  Merodach,  the  sun-god,  with  Tiamatu 
and  her  allies.  This  war  reminds  us  of  the  Biblical  passage 
(Rev.  xii.  7)  in  which  it  is  said  that  "  there  was  war  in  heaven  : 
Michael  and  his  angels  fought  against  the  dragon  ;  and  the 
dragon  fought  and  his  angels,  and  prevailed  not."  The  frag- 
ments relating  to  the  Tower  of  Babel  are  unfortunately  very 
scanty.  They  confirm  the  statements  of  Greek  writers,  accord- 
ing to  which  the  Babylonians  related  that  the  gods  destroyed 
the  Tower  by  winds.  The  name  Bab-el  signifies  ' '  Gate  of  God, " 
and  is  a  Semitic  translation  of  the  older  Accadian  name  of  the 
place,  Ca-dimirra,  which  may  possibly  refer  to  the  building  of 
the  Tower.  As  the  Accadian  name  of  the  month  Tizri  (Sep- 
tember) was  "the  month  of  the  holy  mound,"  while  the  deity 
who  was  connected  with  the  building  of  the  Tower  was  termed 
"the  king  of  the  holy  mound,"  it  is  probable  that  the  event  in 
question  was  supposed  to  have  taken  place  at  the  autumnal 
equinox.  — S. 


ej4  HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA. 

The  Babylonians  asserted  that  they  had  records 
written  before  the  Flood,  and  that  the  cities  of  Babel, 
or  Babylon,  Sippara,  Larancha,  and  Surippak  were 
great  cities  before  the  Deluge.1  Certainly,  if  there 
was  a  civilized  race  here  for  1,000  to  1,500  years 
before  the  Flood,  we  might  expect  one  day  to 
find  some  traces  of  it ;  but  as  yet  no  contempo- 
rary monuments  have  been  discovered  which  can 
be  placed  earlier  than  B.C.  2300,  and  even  this 
date  may  be  too  early  for  our  oldest  known  monu- 
ments. 

The  Babylonian  traditions  relate  that  after  the  Flood 
the  people  who  were  saved  returned  to  Babylonia  and 
repeopled  the  country ;  and  Greek  translations  have 
preserved  a  few  names  of  monarchs  supposed  to  be- 
long to  the  subsequent  epoch  ;  but  nothing  whatever 
is  known  of  the  state  of  the  country  or  nature  of  the 
government 

The  cuneiform  inscriptions  throw  a  little  light  on 
this  obscure  interval,  but  some  of  the  accounts  are 
overloaded  with  miraculous  and  impossible  stories, 

1  Larancha  must  be  identified  with  Surippak  (or  Suripkhu,  as 
the  name  may  also  be  read),  since  Xisuthrus  is  made  a  native  of 
Larancha  by  Berosus,  while  he  is  called  a  native  of  Surippak  in 
the  cuneiform  Deluge  Tablets. — S. 


HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA.  55 

from  which  it  is  difficult  to  separate  the  historical 
matter. 

From  these  it  appears  that  in  early  times  this  part 
of  the  world  was  divided  into  many  small  principali- 
ties, when  there  arose  a  hero  whom  I  provisionally 
call  Izdhubar,  but  who  corresponds  in  my  opinion  to 
the  Nimrod  of  the  Bible.  The  Biblical  account  of 
Nimrod  will  be  found  in  Gen.  x.  8-12,  and  this 
really  forms  the  only  certain  and  authentic  notice  of 
the  hero.  There  is,  however,  a  mass  of  later  tradition 
with  respect  to  him  which  may  be  partly  founded  on 
the  statements  of  Babylonian  history ;  some  of  it, 
however,  is  evidently  false. 

Izdhubar,  whom  I  identify  with  Nimrod,  is  reported 
to  have  been  a  local  Babylonian  chief,  celebrated  for 
his  prowess ;  a  mighty  hunter  and  ruler  of  men,  when 
some  enemy,  probably  the  chief  of  a  neighbouring 
race,  came  down  with  a  force  of  men  and  ships  and 
attacked  the  city  of  Erech. 

Erech  was  a  large  Chaldean  city,  near  the  Euphra- 
tes, about  120  miles  south  of  Babylon.  It  is  men- 
tioned in  Genesis  as  one  of  the  capitals  of  Nimrod, 
and  is  now  represented  by  the  mounds  of  Warka. 
According  to  the  Babylonian  tradition,  it  was  then 
devoted  to  the  worship  of  Anu,  god  of  heaven,  and 


56  HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA. 

his  wife,  or  consort,  Anatu,  and  its  ruler  was  a  queen 
or  goddess,  named  Ishtar,  celebrated  for  her  beauty 
and  for  her  dissolute  character.1 

The  enemy  attacked  the  city  and  captured  it,  hold- 
ing it  in  subjection  for  three  years,  when,  by  the  will 
of  the  gods,  it  was  delivered  by  Izdhubar,  who  then 
made  it  the  chief  city  of  his  dominions.  Izdhubar, 
after  gaining  Erech,  was  desirous  to  secure  for  his 
new  court  a  celebrated  sage,  named  Heabani,  who 
appears  to  have  been  in  the  power  of  a  monster. 
The  monster  was  killed  by  order  of  Izdhubar, 
and  Heabani  came  to  Erech  to  the  court  of 
Izdhubar. 

After  the  arrival  of  Heabani,  he  acted  as  astrologer 
and  assistant  to  Izdhubar,  and  accompanied  him  in  his 
various  expeditions.  Izdhubar  then  made  war  upon  a 
chief  named  Humbaba,  who  ruled  in  a  mountainous 
region  clothed  with  pine-trees,  and  conquered  him, 
annexing  his  dominions  to  Babylonia.  Another  chief, 
named  Belesu,  was  then  conquered,  and  probably 
many  others  whose  names  have  been  lost.  Accord- 
ing to  the  legend,  the  dominions  of  Izdhubar  now 
reached  from  the  Persian  Gulf  to  the  Armenian 

1  Ishtar  was  the  Ashtoreth  of  the  Bible,  the  Astarte  of  Greek 
writers. 


HISTORY    OF    BABYLONIA.  57 

mountains,  and  from  the  Euphrates  to  Elam,  all  the 
chiefs  within  this  region  being  subject  to  him. 

After  this  the  story  relates  that  Ishtar,  queen  of 
Erech,  who  appears  sometimes  as  human,  and  some- 
times as  divine,  conceived  a  passion  for  Izdhubar,  and 
offered  to  marry  him. 

The  character  of  Ishtar  resembled  that  of  the 
classical  Venus.  I  think  perhaps  she  may  have  been 
some  notorious  queen  deified  by  the  Babylonians ; 
but  it  is  quite  possible  that  she  was  only  a  personifica- 
tion of  human  passion.  According  to  the  Babylo- 
nians, she  had  been  first  married  to  Dumuzi,  Tam- 
muz,  or  Adonis,  whose  tragical  death  was  celebrated 
with  great  ceremony  in  the  East  (see  Ezek.  viii.  14). 
Afterwards,  Ishtar  is  represented  as  leading  a  de- 
praved life  until  she  met  Izdhubar  and  offered  to  marry 
him.  Izdhubar  refused  her  offer,  and  pointed  out  her 
faithless  conduct,  on  which  she  became  enraged,  and 
mounting  to  heaven,  complained  to  her  father  Anu, 
who  was  the  ruling  divinity  of  that  region. 

Anu  being  invoked  by  his  daughter,  at  her  request 
created  a  composite  monster,  a  winged  bull,  which 
went  to  attack  Izdhubar.  The  Babylonian  monarch 
called  his  chiefs,  and  with  the  aid  of  Heabani  they 
slew  the  animal.  Ishtar  then  cursed  Izdhubar,  who 


58  HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA. 

had  the  animal  cut  up,  and  dedicated  the  horns  in 
one  of  his  temples. 

Izdhubar  now  made  a  triumphal  entry  into  Erech, 
and  feasted  his  chiefs  in  the  hall  of  his  palace,  at  the 
same  time  making  proclamation  of  his  great  deeds 
round  the  city.  The  tablets  go  on  to  describe  various 
other  exploits  of  Izdhubar  and  Heabani,  but  we  are 
told  that  misfortune  came  and  put  an  end  to  this 
prosperity.  Heabani  was  killed  by  some  poisonous 
animal,  and  Izdhubar  himself  was  struck  with  disease. 
Up  to  this  point,  although  the  narrative  is  full  of 
absurdities  and  miracles,  it  possibly  had  some  founda- 
tion in  fact ;  but  the  subsequent  part  of  the  history 
must  be  entirely  mythical. 

This  latter  portion  of  the  narrative  relates  that 
Izdubar  bitterly  mourned  over  the  death  of  Heabani, 
and  then  set  out  from  the  city  of  Erech  to  seek  Hasis- 
adra,  the  hero  of  the  Flood,  who  was  supposed  by 
the  Babylonians  to  be  living  with  the  gods  somewhere 
near  the  Persian  Gulf.  It  is  remarkable  that  the 
Babylonian  traditions  surrounded  with  interest  the 
region  to  the  south  of  the  country,  where  their  own 
great  rivers,  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates,  poured  into 
the  sea.  Out  of  this  sea  they  relate  that  there  arose 
Cannes,  the  composite  monster  who,  according  to 


HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA.  59 

Berosus,  taught  civilization  to  the  Babylonians.  The 
building  of  the  ark  was  placed  here ;  and  this  sea  was 
considered  part  of  the  great  chaotic  deep  out  of  which 
the  world  was  formed ;  while  in  this  neighbourhood 
was  the  celestial  region  where  the  gods  and  spirits 
dwelt. 

The  description  of  the  journey  of  Izdhubar  is  purely 
a  romance.  He  visits  the  region  where  the  giants 
control  the  rising  and  setting  sun ;  he  passes  through 
a  district  of  darkness,  and  emerges  into  a  paradise. 
He  afterwards  visited  the  sea-coast,  came  into  contact 
with  a  man  named  Siduri,  and  a  woman  named  Sabitu, 
and  later  with  a  woman  named  Mua,  to  whom  he 
relates  the  history  of  his  connection  with  Heabani. 
About  this  time  he  falls  in  with  a  boatman  named 
Urhamsi,1  and  they  get  out  a  boat  and  go  to  seek 
Hasisadra. 

The  purpose  of  Izdhubar  is  to  ask  the  sage  to  cure 
him  of  his  illness,  and  to  attain  himself,  if  he  can,  to 
the  same  immortality  as  that  enjoyed  by  Hasisadra. 

On  the  invitation  of  Izdhubar,  Hasisadra  is  supposed 
to  relate  to  him  the  story  of  the  Flood  (already  given 
above) ;  and  then  he  instructs  Urhamsi  how  to  cure 

1  The  reading  of  this  name  is  very  doubtful. — S. 


Co  HISTORY    OF    BABYLONIA. 

Izdhubar  of  his  illness.  Izdhubar  after  this  returns  to 
Erech,  where  he  once  more  mourns  over  the  lost 
Heabani. 

Such  is  the  outline  of  the  story  of  Izdhubar  from  the 
cuneiform  inscriptions.  How  much  historical  matter, 
if  any,  underlies  the  story,  I  cannot  tell ;  but  certainly 
no  monuments  of  his  age  are  known,  and  no  confi- 
dence can  be  put  in  any  of  the  details  in  their  present 
form.  The  book  of  Genesis  relates  that  after  the  Flood 
the  people  "journeyed  from  the  east"  to  Shinar  in 
Babylonia ;  and  this  statement  of  the  Bible  shows  that 
the  writer  of  Genesis  pointed  to  the  same  region  as 
the  inscriptions  for  the  descent  from  the  ark.  Nizir 
lies  to  the  east  of  the  Euphrates  valley,  and  in  jour- 
neying from  it  to  Shinar  a  western  course  would  be 
taken.  On  the  other  hand,  the  mountain  now  called 
Ararat  lies  quite  to  the  north  of  the  Euphrates 
valley. 

Arrived  in  Babylonia  from  Nizir,  the  Bible  describes 
the  people  as  building  the  city  of  Babylon,  and  com- 
mencing there  the  erection  of  a  tower,  which  work 
was  stopped  by  Divine  intervention.  After  the  return 
to  Babylonia,  there  arose  a  Cushite  named  Nimrod, 
who  commenced  an  empire  in  the  districts  of  Babel 
(Babylon),  Erech  (modern  Warka,  south  of  Babylon), 


HISTORY    OF    BABYLONIA.  6l 

Akkad  (near  Sippara,  north  of  Babylon),1  and  Calneh, 
which  the  Talmud  identifies  with  Nipur  or  Niffer, 
east  of  Babylon,  but  which  more  probably  lay  near 
the  Tigris.  These  four  cities  appear  to  have  formed 
the  centres  or  capitals  of  four  states  or  districts  into 
which  in  old  times  Babylonia  was  divided. 

I  have  already  suggested  the  identity  of  Nimrod 
with  the  Izdhubar  of  the  inscriptions.  Although  this 
is  not  proved,  it  is  probable  ;  and  there  is  certainly 
no  other  hero  in  the  range  of  the  Babylonian  inscrip- 
tions likely  to  correspond  with  Nimrod. 

The  early  Christian  writers  identified  Nimrod  with 
a  king  in  the  list  of  Berosus  called  Evechous,  who  is 
said  to  have  reigned  over  Babylonia  after  the  return 
of  the  inhabitants  for  2,400  years,  and  they  give  after 
him  the  name  of  a  second  king  Chomosbolus  for  2,700 
years.  According  to  the  history  of  Berosus,  there 
reigned  after  the  Deluge,  commencing  with  Evechous, 
eighty-six  kings,  for  a  period  of  34,080  or  33,091  years, 
down  to  the  time  when  the  Medes  conquered  Babylon. 
The  long  average  of  the  reigns  in  this  period  proves 

1  Accad  was  rather  a  district  distinct  from  Shinar  (called 
Sumer  in  the  inscriptions),  and  so  called  from  its  inhabitants,  the 
Accadai,  or  "Highlanders."  What  Mr.  Smith  read  as  Agade, 
and  identified  with  the  Biblical  Accad,  is  read  by  other  scholars 
Agane. — S. 


62  HISTORY    OF    BABYLONIA. 

that  we  are  not  dealing  here  with  history,  but  with 
mythical  personages,  or  at  best  with  traditionary 
heroes,  whose  reigns  are  greatly  exaggerated. 

It  is  curious  that  the  narrative  of  Berosus,  after  this 
period  of  34,080  years,  commences  the  historical  part 
of  the  work,  not  with  a  native  dynasty,  but  with  a 
foreign  conquest,  the  first  dynasty  being  stated  to  be 
Median,1  and  to  have  consisted  of  eight  kings,  who 
reigned  for  224  years.  Beside  the  name  of  Izdhubar, 
the  cuneiform  inscriptions  supply  two  or  three  other 
names  of  kings  belonging  to  the  long  mythical  or 
traditionary  period  after  the  Flood ;  among  these  are 
Etanna,  who  built  a  city  which  may  have  been  the 
same  as  Babel,  Tammuz,  and  Ner.  No  monuments 
or  remains  of  this  period  are  known,  but  it  is  probable 
that  there  existed  at  one  time  in  Babylonia  rude  and 
early  monuments  which  were  ascribed  to  this  period  ; 
for  we  are  told  in  the  Izdhubar  legends  that  that  hero 
raised  stone  monuments  in  memory  of  his  celebrated 
journey  to  Hasisadra. 

1  As  the  Median  dynasty  of  Berosus  seems  to  have  derived  its 
name,  not  from  the  Media  of  classical  geography  but  from  the 
Accadian  word  mada,  "country,"  it  is  possible  that  the  dynasty 
may,  after  all,  have  been  a  native  one  belonging  to  the  "country" 
of  Babylonia.— S. 


HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA.  63 


CHAPTER  III. 

CHALDEA,  OR   SOUTH    BABYLONIA. 

Nipur  and  Ur — Urukh  and  his  buildings — The  religion  and 
civilization  of  Ur — Dungi — The  kings  of  Karrak — The  rise  of 
Larsa. 

IN  early  times  Babylonia  appears  to  have  con- 
sisted of  several  states,  which  in  time  became  con- 
solidated into  one.  Of  these  states  our  monuments 
make  us  first  acquainted  with  one  in  the  south,  the 
capital  of  which  was  Ur.  At  this  time  our  indica- 
tions suggest  that  the  parent  city  of  Ur  was  Nipur, 
now  Niffer,  a  city  lying  south-west  of  Babylon,  be- 
tween the  Euphrates  and  Tigris.  On  the  site  of  Niffer 
there  are  now  the  ruins  of  a  considerable  city,  divided 
into  two  parts  by  the  dry  bed  of  a  river,  probably  in 
ancient  times  a  branch  of  the  Euphrates. 

Nipur  was  devoted  to  the  worship  of  Bel,  the  great 
deity  of  the  Babylonians,  who  was  one  of  the  three 


64  HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA. 

supreme  gods  ;  and  joined  with  his  worship  was  that 
of  his  consort  Belat,  or  Mylitta,  and  the  god  Ninip, 
lord  of  war  and  hunting,  who  was  called  his  son. 

Of  the  time  when  Nipur  was  the  leading  city  in 
this  part  of  Babylonia,  we  have  discovered  no  monu- 
ments; but  immediately  after,  we  find,  when  the 
monarchy  of  Ur  arose,  it  was  claimed  that  the  god  of 
Ur,  the  moon,  was  "  the  eldest  son  of  Bel,  the  god  of 
Nipur,"  the  claim  carrying  with  it  evidently  the  asser- 
tion that  he  inherited  the  rule  of  his  father,  and  his 
city  the  position  of  his  father's  seat,  Nipur. 

Ur,  the  city  which  thus  appears  to  have  succeeded 
Nipur  as  capital,  is  represented  by  the  mounds  of 
Mugheir,  about  six  miles  from  the  Euphrates  on  its 
western  bank,  about  lat.  31°.  It  was  probably  not 
far  from  the  old  mouth  of  the  Euphrates,  but  the 
river,  in  company  with  the  Tigris,  brings  down  so 
large  an  amount  of  material  to  deposit  at  its  mouth, 
that  the  land  rapidly  accumulates  at  the  head  of  the 
Persian  Gulf,  and  the  present  mouth  of  the  Euphrates 
is  far  from  the  original  outlet  of  the  river.  The 
ruins  of  Ur  are  enclosed  by  a  wall,  something  in  the 
shape  of  a  pear,  and  measuring  about  two  miles 
round.  The  space  round  the  town  is  full  of  graves 
of  all  ages,  showing  the  long  period  through  which 


HISTORY    OF    BABYLONIA.  65 

the  city  flourished.  This  city  was  probably  the  Ur 
of  the  Chaldees,  mentioned  in  Genesis  xi.  28  as  the 
birthplace  of  Abraham. 

According  to  the  ordinary  chronology  of  our  Bible, 
it  was  in  the  twentieth  century  before  the  Christian 
era  when  Abraham  left  his  Chaldean  home  to  migrate 
into  Syria ;  and  it  is  curious  that  so  far  as  we  can 
judge  from  the  inscriptions,  it  was  about  this  time 
that  the  city  of  Ur  rose  into  importance. 

The  city  of  Ur  was  devoted  to  the  worship  of  the 
moon-god,  called  in  early  times  Ur,  and  the  place 
itself  appears  to  have  been  named  after  that  divinity 
"  the  city  of  Ur." l  The  rise  of  Ur  caused  the  worship 
of  the  moon-god  to  become  famous,  and  to  extend 
over  the  whole  of  the  country,  the  Babylonians  ever 
after  esteeming  this  divinity  in  preference  to  Shamas, 
the  sun-god,  and  they  always  considered  the  moon 
to  be  masculine,  while  sometimes  the  sun  was  repre- 
sented as  the  son  of  the  moon,  and  at  other  times  as 
a  female  divinity. 

The  earliest  known  ruler  of  the  city  of  Ur  was  a 
monarch  whose  name  is  very  uncertain ;  it  has  been 

1  This  is  hardly  correct.     The  title  of  the  moon-god  alluded 
to  in  the  text  is  really  Hur-ci,  "protector  of  the  land,"  while  the 
true  meaning  of  Uru  or  Ur  is  "  the  city." — S. 
F 


66  HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA. 

read  provisionally  by  Sir  H.  Rawlinson  as  Urukh,  and 
compared  with  the  Orchamus  of  Ovid  and  the  Arioch 
of  Genesis  :  these  identifications  are,  however,  very 
uncertain.1  We  have  no  knowledge  of  the  age  of 
Urukh,  but  he  cannot  well  be  placed  later  than  the 
twentieth  century  B.C.,  while  he  may  have  been 
much  earlier.  The  period  of  Urukh  marks  the  age 
when  our  known  contemporary  monuments  begin  ; 
there  must  have  been  in  many  places  earlier  build- 
ings, works  of  art,  and  inscriptions  ;  but  excavations 
in  Babylonia  have  been  so  limited,  that  none  have 
yet  been  brought  to  light.  It  is  evident  that  the  age 
of  Urukh  cannot  be  the  starting-point  of  Babylonian 
civilization,  because  the  remains  of  this  period  show 
the  country  well  advanced  in  arts  and  sciences. 

The  art  of  building  was  well  known,  and  had 
reached  a  high  state  of  excellence ;  the  material  in 
general  consisted  of  brick,  either  burnt  or  dried  in 

1  It  is  probable  that  the  true  reading  of  the  name  is  Lig- 
Bagas.  At  all  events  an  inscription  has  been  found  on  a  cylin- 
der which  calls  the  king  Dungi  the  son  of  Lig-Bagas,  and  this 
king  Dungi  is  probably  identical  with  the  monarch  of  that  name 
to  be  mentioned  presently.  The  first  part  of  the  name  in  ques- 
tion is  certainly  to  be  read  Lig,  "  a  lion ; "  the  second  part  is  the 
name  of  the  primeval  goddess,  the  mother  of  the  gods,  called 
Zicum,  or  Zigara,  "heaven,"  by  the  Accadians. — S. 


HISTORY    OF    BABYLONIA.  67 

the  sun ;  but  carving  in  stone  was  known  and  prac- 
tised, and  inscribed  stone  tablets,  and  cylindrical 
stone  seals  of  this  age  are  in  existence  showing  the 
advance  of  the  people  in  these  directions.  Writing 
with  the  conventional  cuneiform  characters  was  well 
known  and  practised,  most  of  the  bricks  and  stone 
objects  being  inscribed  with  legends  in  these  cha- 
racters. These  inscriptions  show  that  the  language 
of  the  people  was  Semitic,  although  they  were  using 
a  syllabary  and  style  of  writing  which  many  scholars 
have  supposed  to  be  derived  from  a  much  earlier  race.1 

The  government  of  the  country  appears  then  to 
have  been  in  the  hands  of  kings,  of  whom  there  were 
probably  three  or  four ;  and  under  them  were  "  patesi," 
or  viceroys,  who  ruled  in  the  different  districts. 

The  religion  of  Babylonia,  which  was  often  modi 
fied  in  subsequent  ages,  was  already  woven  into  a 
poetic  system,  in  which  the  gods  were  conceived  of 
as  begetting  each  other,  holding  rank  in  reference  to 
each  other,  engaging  in  particular  offices,  and  favour- 
ing each  a  particular  locality  or  city. 

1  This  is  not  quite  correct,  as  several  of  the  inscriptions  of 
this  age,  like  the  proper  names  they  contain,  are  not  in  Semitic, 
but  in  the  Accadian,  or  agglutinative  language  of  ancient 
Chaldea,— S. 

F    2 


68  HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA. 

The  three  great  gods  were  Anu,  lord  of  the  heavens ; 
Bel,  lord  of  the  visible  world ;  and  Hea,  lord  of  the 
sea  and  infernal  regions.  Anu  was  originally  wor- 
shipped at  the  city  of  Erech,  but  in  later  times  the 
goddess  Ishtar  took  his  place  at  this  seat ;  Bel  had 
his  chief  seat  at  Nipur,  and  Hea  at  the  city  of  Eridu. 
Sin,  or  the  moon-god  of  the  new  capital  Ur,  was  called 
eldest  son  of  Bel ;  Samas,  the  sun-god  ;  Nergal,  god 
of  war ;  Ninip,  a  similar  divinity  ;  Vul,1  god  of  the 
atmosphere,  with  many  others,  were  in  great  repute ; 
while  among  the  female  divinities  Anatu,  goddess  of 
life  and  death,  who  was  the  female  form  and  comple- 
ment of  Anu  ;  Anunit,  goddess  of  Akkad  ; 2  Nana 
goddess  of  Erech  ;  Beltis,  wife  of  Bel ;  and  Davkina, 
consort  of  Hea,  were  the  most  celebrated. 

From  the  engravings  on  the  seals  of  this  period  it 
appears  that  long,  flowing,  embroidered  dresses  were 
used,  and  ornamental  articles  of  furniture.  Urukh, 
the  earliest  known  king  of  Ur,  probably  began  his 
reign  only  in  the  district  round  his  capital,  and  after- 
wards extended  his  dominion  over  most  of  Babylonia. 
We  are  entirely  ignorant  of  the  conflicts  and  triumphs 
which  led  to  the  establishment  of  his  empire,  and  can 

1  Rather  Rimmon. — S.  J  Rather  Agaric. — S. 


HISTORY    OF    BABYLONIA.  69 

only  trace  his  power  by  the  cities  he  ruled  over,  and 
the  splendid  edifices  he  raised.  His  reign  appears  to 
have  been  long  and  prosperous,  and  he  was  a  greater 
builder  than  any  other  king  excepting  Nebuchad- 
nezzar. At  the  city  of  Ur  he  built  the  temple  of  the 
moon-god,  and  a  ziggurat,  or  temple-tower,  lying  in 
the  northern  part  of  the  town.  This  tower  was  built 
on  a  mound  about  twenty  feet  high.  The  building, 
so  far  as  it  has  been  explored,  consists  of  two  stages, 
with  some  traces  of  a  third,  or  upper  stage  ;  the  lower 
stage  is  198  feet  long  by  133  feet  broad,  and  the 
middle  stage  119  feet  long  by  75  feet  broad.  The 
form  of  the  superstructure  and  height  of  the  stages 
have  not  been  made  out,  and  it  is  quite  likely  that 
there  were  originally  more  stages.  The  body  of  the 
building  consists  of  sun-dried  bricks,  with  a  facing  ten 
feet  thick,  composed  of  burnt  bricks,  each  side  being 
further  strengthened  by  shallow  buttresses  of  the  same 
material. 

This  temple-tower  was  building  during  the  reign  of 
Urukh,  and  was  left  unfinished  at  his  death. 

Numerous  other  buildings  at  the  city  of  Ur  were 
raised  by  Urukh,  and  among  them  a  palace  called  the 
house  of  Rubu-tsiru,  or  "  the  supreme  prince." 

At  the  city  of  Larsa,  Urukh  built  the  temple  of  the 


70  HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA. 

sun,  called  the  house  of  "  Parra,"  and  at  the  city  of 
Erech  he  built  the  temple  of  the  heavens,  which  had 
originally  been  dedicated  to  the  god  Anu,  but  was 
now  devoted  to  the  worship  of  Ishtar,  or  Venus.  At 
Nipur  he  built  a  temple  to  Bel,  and  a  second  to  the 
goddess  Belat  or  Beltis,  the  consort  of  Bel.  At  Zer- 
ghul  he  built  a  temple  to  Sar-ili,  or  the  king  of 
the  gods.  It  is  probable  that  further  excavations 
would  reveal  numerous  other  buildings  raised  by  this 
monarch,  but  our  present  information  is  in  every  way 
scanty. 

Urukh  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Dungi,  who  ruled 
as  far  north  as  Babylon.  Dungi  finished  the  tower  at 
Ur,  rebuilt  the  temple  of  Erech,  and  built  a  temple 
at  Babylon. 

A  fine  cylindrical  seal  of  the  age  of  Urukh  was  dis- 
covered by  Ker  Porter,  but  subsequently  lost ;  another,, 
very  similar,  of  the  age  of  Dungi,  is  now  in  the  British 
Museum. 

Several  successors  of  Dungi  are  known  :  these  kings 
have  in  most  cases  their  names  compounded  with  the 
name  of  the  moon-god,  but  the  pronunciation  of  this 
element  is  uncertain  ;  the  inscriptions  render  it  Ur,1 

1  Rather  Hur-ci . — S. 


HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA.  71 

Agu,  Aku,  Ida,  and  Sin.  The  worship  of  the  moon 
became  very  celebrated  on  account  of  this  deity  being 
god  of  the  capital  city. 

The  city  of  Ur  in  time  declined,  and  another 
capital  arose,  named  Nisin,  or  Karrak  :  the  position 
of  this  place  is  unknown,  but  it  was  probably  not  far 
from  Nipur. 

There  is  a  difference  in  character  between  the  in- 
scriptions of  the  kings  of  Ur  and  those  of  Karrak, 
which  suggests  the  idea  that  they  belonged  to  two 
different  races. 

Among  the  kings  of  Karrak  the  two  most  important 
appear  to  have  been  Ismi-  dagan  and  Libit-istar.  Ismi- 
dagan  repaired  some  of  the  buildings  of  Urukh.  Some 
writers  have  placed  him  in  the  nineteenth  century 
B.C.,  supposing  him  to  be  the  same  as  an  Ismi-dagan 
who  then  ruled  in  Assyria.  Libit-istar  has  also  left 
some  remains.  There  is  in  the  British  Museum  a 
fragment  of  a  beautiful  inscription  relating  his  offer- 
ings in  the  temple  of  Bel,  and  a  dream  which  the  king 
afterwards  had. 

The  city  of  Karrak,  like  Ur,  declined,  and  the 
ruling  power  passed  to  the  city  of  Larsa,  on  the  east 
side  of  the  Euphrates,  now  represented  by  the  ruins 
of  Senkereh.  The  kings  of  Larsa  had,  however,  at 


72  HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA. 


BRONZE   IMAGE   OF   KING   GUDEA. 


HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA. 


73 


BLACK   MARBLE  TORSO   OF  KING   GUDEA, 
MUCH   MUTILATED. 


74  HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA. 

first  a  very  limited  kingdom,  only  embracing  the 
region  of  Ur  and  Larsa ;  but  it  gradually  grew  in  im- 
portance until  it  came  under  the  influence  of  the 
rulers  of  Yamutbal,  on  the  east  of  the  Tigris.  The 
first  of  these  known  was  Simti-silhak :  his  son  was 
named  Kudur-mabuk.  Kudur-mabuk  gained  such 
influence  that  he  virtually  ruled  at  Larsa,  and  placed 
his  own  son,  Bim-agu,  or  Riagu,  on  the  throne  there. 
Kudur-mabuk  and  his  son  then  made  a  joint  attack 
on  Karrak,  and  capturing  the  city,  put  an  end  to  the 
power  of  that  capital.  Subsequent  conquests  com- 
pleted their  dominion,  which  extended  over  most  of 
Babylonia.  The  Chaldeans  considered  the  fall  of 
Karrak  so  important  that  they  commenced  to  count 
from  it  as  an  era,  and  used  it  for  their  computations 
until  the  fall  of  Larsa. 

Riagu  governed  well  under  the  regency  of  his 
father,  and  built  temples,  excavated  canals,  and  en- 
gaged in  various  other  valuable  works.  After  about 
thirty  years  of  peace,  the  dominions  of  Riagu  were 
attacked  by  Hammurabi,1  another  of  these  kings,  and 
the  south  of  the  country  was  conquered,  never  again 
to  be  the  chief  seat  of  power. 

1  Or  Hammuragas. 


HISTORY    OF    BABYLONIA.  75 


CHAPTER    IV. 

UPPER    BABYLONIA. 

Cities  of  Upper  Babylonia — Agu-kak-rimi — Sargon  I. — Naram- 
Sin — Hammurabi — Babylon  made  the  capital — The  successors 
of  Hammurabi,  and  the  Kassite  dynasty — Intercourse  with 
Assyria — The  Assyrian  conquest  of  Babylonia. 

THE  region  of  Upper  Babylonia,  probably  the 
Akkad  of  the  inscriptions,  included  all  the  country 
north  of  the  city  of  Nipur,  or  Niffer.  This  region  was 
the  classical  land  of  cuneiform  literature,  and  from 
its  terra-cotta  libraries  came  most  of  the  great  works 
which  were  copied  in  Assyria. 

The  following  were  the  principal  towns  : — 
Babylon,  a  city  said  to  have  been  built  in  very  early 
times,  but  which  remained  for  some  centuries  of 
secondary  importance.  It  became  at  length  capital  of 
the  country,  a  position  it  held  for  more  than  1,200 
years,  until  the  Greek  conquest  of  Asia. 

Borsippa,  south-west  of  Babylon,  a  famous   city, 
supposed  to  be  the  site  of  the  Tower  of  Confusion. 


76 


HISTORY    OF    BABYLONIA. 


Sippara,  which  consisted  of  two  cities,  one  dedi- 
cated to  Shamas,  the  other  to  Anunit. 


THE   TEMPLE   OF   NEBO   AT   BORSIPPA  :   BIRS   NIMRUD. 


Akkad,1  near  Sippara,  the  capital  before  the  rise  of 
Babylon ;  Kisu  and  Harriskalama,  two  twin  cities 
near  Babylon. 

Cutha,  a  great  city  east  of  Babylon. 

1  Rather  Agane. — S. 


HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA.  77 

The  early  history  of  Upper  Babylonia  is  unknown. 
All  we  can  do  respecting  it  is  to  notice  some  of  the 
names  of  the  monarchs  and  their  works  :  their  dates 
and  succession  have  not  been  discovered ;  but  it  is 
probable  that  they  were  contemporary  with  the  kings 
of  Lower  Babylonia. 

One  of  these  kings  was  Agu,  or  Agu-kak-rimi,  who 
ruled  at  Babylon,  and  restored  the  temple  of  Bel  at 
that  site.  It  appears  by  his  inscription  that  before  his 
time  Babylonia  had  been  worsted  in  war,  and  the 
images  of  Merodach  and  his  consort  Zirat-banit,  the 
great  gods  of  Babylon,  had  been  carried  captive  into 
the  land  of  Hani,  a  region,  the  position  of  which  is 
uncertain,  but  which  probably  lay  somewhere  north- 
east of  Babylon.  Agu  sent  an  officer,  and  recovered 
the  images ;  but  his  narrative  leaves  the  impression 
that  they  were  ransomed,  and  that  Babylon  had  at 
this  time  only  a  subordinate  position. 

Zabu,  another  of  these  kings,  is  only  known  as 
the  builder  of  the  temples  of  Samas  and  Anunit  at 
Sippara. 

The  most  celebrated  line  of  sovereigns  in  Upper 
Babylonia  was  the  race  of  the  kings  of  Akkad,1  and 

1  Rather  Ajjane.  — S. 


78  HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA. 

so  far  as  we  can  judge,  they  reigned  about  B.C.  1700 
to  1550.  The  greatest  of  these  sovereigns  was  named 
Sargon,  which  means  "  the  right "  or  "  true  king." 
He  emerged  from  a  position  of  obscurity,  being  hus- 
bandman to  a  water-carrier,  and  he  has  left  a  curious 
inscription  in  which  he  claims  relationship  with  the 
former  royal  family.  He  relates  that  his  father's 
brother  ruled  over  the  country,  and  that  his  mother 
concealed  his  birth,  and  placing  him  in  an  ark  of  reeds 
daubed  over  with  bitumen,  abandoned  him  on  the 
Euphrates.  Akki,  a  water-carrier,  going  to  the  river, 
is  said  to  have  discovered  the  ark  and  brought  up  the 
child  as  his  own.1  We  are  ignorant  of  the  circum- 
stances which  led  to  the  accession  of  Sargon,  but 
another  of  his  inscriptions  relates  a  number  of  the 
prominent  events  of  his  reign. 

The  Elamites,  on  the  east  of  Babylonia,  being 
troublesome,  he  made  an  expedition  against  them, 
and  defeated  them;  then  he  attacked  the  Hittites, 
or  Syrians,  on  the  Upper  Euphrates,  and  con- 
quered these,  claiming  the  rule  of  the  four  races 
or  regions. 

Within  Babylonia  itself  were  other  states  with  which 

1  The  inscription  which  relates  this  legend  can  hardly  belong 
to  the  age  of  Sargon,  but  must  be  of  much  later  date. — S. 


HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA.  79 

Sargon  now  came  in  contact,  and  which  he  subdued, 
reducing  the  whole  of  the  country  to  his  sway. 

After  this,  two  expeditions  against  the  Syrians  fol- 
lowed, in  both  of  which  the  Babylonian  monarch 
claims  the  victory.  Then  he  started  on  a  long  march 
of  conquest  to  the  Mediterranean.  He  appears  to 
have  met  with  considerable  opposition,  and  the  expe- 
dition lasted  for  three  years.  During  it  he  reached 
the  Mediterranean,  and  planting  his  standard  by  its 
shores,  left  there  a  tablet  to  commemorate  the  extent 
of  his  conquests.  The  next  expedition  of  Sargon  was 
against  Kastu-bila  of  Kazalla,  and  after  defeating  him, 
he  wasted  the  country. 

Sargon  had  hitherto  been  successful,  and  had  im- 
posed his  yoke  on  several  of  his  neighbours.  He  had 
now  to  meet  a  formidable  revolt.  We  are  told  that 
the  elders  of  all  the  people  revolted  against  him,  and 
his  people  besieged  him  in  his  capital  Akkad.1  When 
his  preparations  were  completed,  Sargon  sallied  out 
of  his  city,  and  attacked  and  routed  the  revolters, 
putting  an  end  to  this  disaffection.  Once  more 
assured  at  home,  Sargon  recommenced  his  foreign 
wars,  and  invading  the  neighbouring  land  of  Subarti,2 

1  Or  Agane. 

1  Subarti  was  the  highlands  of  Mesopotamia. 


So  HISTORY    OF    BABYLONIA. 

wasted  it  with  fire  and  sword,  bringing  back  much 
spoil  to  his  capital. 

Sargon  was  a  great  builder  as  well  as  a  warrior. 
He  rebuilt  the  city  of  Akkad,1  raised  a  palace  there, 
and  either  built  or  restored  the  great  temple  of 
Anunit ;  and  he  founded  a  city,  which  he  called  Dur- 
Sargina,  on  the  site  of  an  old  Chaldean  town.  Sargon 
probably  reigned  forty-five  years,  during  which  time 
he  had  extended  the  power  of  the  kingdom  of  Akkad  :7 
from  Dilmun  on  the  Persian  Gulf  to  the  shores  of  the 
Mediterranean  ;  but  on  every  side  lay  kingdoms  only 
under  tribute,  which  revolted  as  soon  as  the  sceptre 
passed  into  less  vigorous  hands. 

Sargon  was  succeeded  by  Naram-Sin,  his  son,  who 
conquered  the  kingdom  of  Apirak ;  and  later  on,  the 
land  of  Maganna,  the  "  ship  region."  This  name 
Maganna  is  also  applied  to  Egypt  in  later  times,3  but 
it  is  more  probable  that  the  Maganna  of  Naram-Sin 
was  a  region  on  the  Persian  Gulf. 

Naram-Sin  completed  Bit-ulbar,  the  temple  of  Anu- 
nit, which  was  left  unfinished  at  his  father's  death. 

1  Or  Agane.  *  Or  Agane. 

3  Or  rather  to  the  peninsula  of  Sinai.  It  is  very  questionable 
whether  Mr.  Smith  was  right  in  interpreting  the  word  as  "  ship's 
region." — S. 


HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA.  8 1 

After  the  time  of  Naram-Sin,  the  history  of  the 
kingdom  of  Akkad l  is  obscure,  and  nothing  is  certain 
until  we  come  to  the  reign  of  Hammurabi. 

The  reign  of  Hammurabi  appears  to  mark  an  era 
in  Babylonian  history.  Before  his  time  we  hear  of 
kingdoms  at  Ur,  Larsa,  Akkad,2  Babylon,  Karrak,  and 
other  places ;  and  occasionally  we  find  powerful 
monarchs,  like  Urtikh  and  Sargon,  ruling  all  the 
country  ;  but  we  have  no  evidence  that  the  whole  of 
Babylonia  was  permanently  united  into  a  single 
monarchy  before  the  time  of  Hammurabi.  The  race 
to  which  Hammurabi  belonged  is  unknown,3  and  com- 
plete obscurity  hangs  over  his  early  history.  In  the 
absence  of  any  certain  information,  it  is  assumed  that 
he  commenced  the  Arabian  dynasty  of  Berosus,  and 
that  he  reigned  near  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth 
century  B.C.  Hammurabi  ruled  at  Babylon,  while 
Rim-agu  and  his  father,  Kudur-mabuk,  possessed  the 
south  and  east  of  the  country.  Hammurabi  made 
war  against  Kudur-mabuk  and  his  son,  defeated  their 
forces  and  overran  the  whole  of  Babylonia,  uniting 
the  country  as  far  as  the  Persian  Gulf  into  one 
monarchy. 

1  Or  Agane.  -  Or  Agane. 

3  He  was  probably  a  Cassite  from  Elam. — S. 

G 


82  HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA. 

The  influence  and  political  power  of  the  southern 
cities  now  departed,  and  henceforth  Babylon  stands 
forth  as  the  sole  capital  of  the  country.  Hammurabi 
took  the  titles  of  king  of  Babylon,  king  of  Sumir  and 
Akkad,  and  king  of  the  four  races,  and  fixed  his  court 
at  the  city  of  Babylon,  where  he  increased  the  magni- 
ficence or  the  worship  of  Merodach,  or  Bel,  the 
Belus  of  the  Greeks ;  and  this  deity  ever  afterwards 
held  the  first  position  among  the  gods  of  the 
country. 

Excepting  a  short  statement  of  his  conquest  of 
Rim-agu  and  his  father,  and  an  incidental  notice  of 
his  conquest  of  Surippak,  nothing  is  known  of  the 
wars  and  triumphs  of  Hammurabi ;  but  he  has  left 
several  notices  of  his  buildings,  showing  the  resources 
of  his  kingdom,  the  extent  of  his  dominion,  and  the 
activity  of  his  rule. 

At  the  city  of  Kisu,  on  the  east  of  Babylon,  now 
represented  by  the  mounds  of  Hymer,  Hammurabi 
restored  the  temple  called  Mite-urris,1  dedicated  to- 
the  god  Zamama,  and  built  a  ziggurat  or  tower,  the 
top  of  which  is  said  to  have  reached  to  heaven.  This 
monarch  also  restored  the  temple  called  Silim-kalama.. 

1  Rather  Mite-tassak,  "the  dwelling  (?)  of  the  hero.'r 


HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA.  83 

and  built  a  city  on  the  Tigris,  named  Kara-samas. 
At  the  city  of  Zarilab,  in  Chaldea,  he  built  a  temple 
to  the  goddess  of  the  place,  and  he  rebuilt  the  temple 
of  Samas  at  Larsa  (now  Senkereh),  raising  there 
another  of  those  remarkable  ziggurats. 

Another  great  work  of  Hammurabi  was  a  canal, 
called  Hammurabi-nuhus-nisi ;  he  also  built  a  palace 
at  the  city  of  Kilmad  (now  Kalwadha),  near  Baghdad, 
and  here  bronze  rings,  belonging  to  some  of  his 
mace-heads,  have  been  discovered.  During  the  reign 
of  Hammurabi  one  of  the  annual  floods,  of  greater 
volume  than  usual,  destroyed  the  city  of  Abnuna,  or 
Umliyas.  Hammurabi  probably  reigned  about  ten 
years  after  he  conquered  the  kingdom  of  Larsa.  He 
was  succeeded  by  Samsu-iluna,  a  monarch  of  whose 
reign  little  is  known.  Samsu-iluna  excavated  a  famous 
canal,  which  was  afterwards  reckoned  among  the 
rivers  of  Babylonia.  This  canal  he  named  Samsu- 
iluna-nagab-nuhsi.  He  also  repaired  the  city  of  Dur- 
sargina,  and  made  images  overlaid  with  gold,  which 
he  dedicated  in  the  temple  of  Saggal,  at  Babylon,  to 
Merodach,  and  in  the  temple  of  Parra,  at  Larsa,  to 
Samas.  After  the  reign  of  Samsu-iluna  complete 
darkness  comes  over  Babylonian  history  :  no  records 
of  the  succeeding  period  have  been  found,  and  only 
c  2 


84  HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA. 

a  few  obscure  and  doubtful  names  are  known.  Among 
these  we  may  perhaps  count  the  name  of  Saga- 
saltiyas,  a  monarch  who  is  only  known  as  the  restorer 
of  the  temples  of  Sippara.  There  were  two  cities  of 
Sippara,  one  devoted  to  the  worship  of  Anunit,  the 
other  to  the  worship  of  Samas  ;  the  temples  at  these 
places  were  raised  by  an  ancient  king,  named  Zabu, 
and  having  fallen  into  decay  were  rebuilt  by  Saga- 
saltiyas. 

During  the  reign  of  another  of  these  monarchs, 
named  Harbi-sipak,  there  were  some  controversies 
between  Assyria  and  Babylonia.  These  disputes  form 
the  first  intercourse  between  the  two  countries  known 
directly  from  the  inscriptions.  Probably  a  little  time 
after  the  reign  of  Harbi-sipak l  connected  history  be- 
gins in  Babylonia  with  the  reign  of  Kara-indas,  who 
lived  about  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century  B.C. 
Kara-indas  takes  the  titles  "  king  of  Babylon,  king  of 
Sumir  and  Akkad,  king  of  Kassu,  and  king  of  Karu- 
duniyas."  From  this  time  the  title  "  king  of  Kar- 
duniyas"was  the  general  title  given  to  Babylonian 
sovereigns  by  the  Assyrians  in  their  records.  During 

1  The  name  should  probably  be  rather  read  Murgas-Sipak. 


HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA.  85 

the  reign  of  Kara-indas,  Assur-bel-nisi-su  ruled  over 
Assyria,  and  a  treaty  was  made  between  the  two 
powers  respecting  the  boundary-line  of  these  states. 
It  is  very  likely  that  some  provinces  were  in  dispute, 
and  that  the  limits  of  each  territory  varied  according 
to  the  power  of  successive  kings.  The  line  of  separa- 
tion at  this  time  is  not  known,  but  it  was  probably  a 
little  north  of  the  35th  parallel  of  latitude,  between  the 
Lower  Zab,  which  was  considered  an  Assyrian  river, 
on  the  one  side,  and  the  river  Turnat  (modern  Adhem), 
which  was  considered  to  be  Babylonian,  on  the  other. 
After  Kara-indas  Burna-buriyas  reigned  over  Baby- 
lonia, about  B.C.  1425.  Burna-buriyas  restored  some 
Babylonian  buildings.  He  continued  the  peace  with 
Assyria,  and  confirmed  the  treaty  which  his  predeces- 
sor had  made  respecting  the  boundaries  of  Babylonia. 
Shortly  after  this,  about  B.C.  1400,  Assur-ubalid,  king 
of  Assyria,  to  cement  the  peace  between  Babylonia 
and  his  own  country,  gave  his  daughter  Muballidat- 
Serua  in  marriage  to  the  king  of  Babylon.  It  is  not 
known  who  was  then  on  the  Babylonian  throne,  but 
shortly  afterwards,  about  B.C.  1380,  Kara-hardas,1  the 


1  Rather  to  be  read  Kara-Murdas,  "servant  of  the  god  Muru  - 
das,'  or  Bel. — S.' 


86  HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA. 

fruit  of  this  marriage,  and,  therefore,  the  grandson  of 
the  king  of  Assyria,  began  to  reign  in  Babylonia.  The 
tribe  of  Kassu  now  appear  on  the  scene  as  the  lead- 
ing people  in  Babylonia.  They  were  first  mentioned 
in  an  inscription  of  Agu-kak-rimi,  and  again  in  the 
time  of  Kara-indas  ;  they  were  perhaps  related  to  the 
tribe  of  the  same  name  living  north  of  Elam ;  but 
nothing  is  known  of  their  previous  history  or  their 
advent  in  Babylonia.  The  Kassu  being  dissatisfied 
with  the  Assyrian  influence  at  court,  and  disliking  the 
foreign  connections  of  the  king,  made  a  revolt  against 
him,  and  slew  him,  setting  up  in  his  place  a  man 
named  Nazi-bugas,  whom  the  Assyrians  assert  to  have 
had  no  right  to  the  throne,  and  not  to  have  been 
connected  with  the  royal  family. 

It  appears  that  this  revolution  was  not  effected 
without  opposition,  and  there  was  a  party  favourable 
to  the  restoration  of  the  old  line.  Bel-nirari,  king  of 
Assyria  B.C.  1375,  who  was  son  of  Assur-ubalid,  and 
therefore  uncle  of  the  murdered  king  of  Babylon, 
resolved  to  avenge  his  death  ;  and  marching  into 
Babylonia  routed  the  Kassu  and  slew  Nazi-bugas, 
placing  the  crown  on  the  head  of  a  son  of  Burna- 
buriyas,  supposed  to  be  Kur-galzu,  or  Kuri-galzu. 
This  interference  of  Assyria  in  the  affairs  of  Babylonia 


HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA.  87 

was  the  commencement  of  an  unfortunate  policy,  and 
inaugurated  a  series  of  wars  between  the  two  countries 
which  lasted  two  hundred  years. 

Kuri-galzu,  although  he  attained  his  throne  through 
Assyrian  aid,  does  not  appear  to  have  trusted  his 
allies,  and  he  built  a  strong  city,  called  Dur-kuri-galzu 
(now  Akkerkuf).  near  Baghdad,  to  form  a  defence  in 
the  northern  part  of  his  dominion.  He  also  restored 
some  of  the  Chaldean  temples,  and  was  considered 
one  of  the  most  successful  Babylonian  monarchs. 

Kuri-galzu  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Mili-sipak, 
about  B.C.  1350,  and  he  by  his  son  Merodach-bala- 
dan  I.,  about  B.C.  1325.  In  his  time  war  broke  out 
with  Assyria,  and  Vul-nirari,  king  of  Assyria,  ravaged 
Upper  Babylonia,  and  defeated  the  forces  of  the 
Kassu.  Assyria  now  conquered  the  region  of  the 
Khabur,  and  came  down  past  the  junction  of  that 
river  with  the  Euphrates  to  the  city  of  Rapiku,  which 
now  formed  the  border  between  the  two  countries. 

Merodach-baladan  is  known  only  from  a  fine 
boundary-stone  in  the  British  Museum,  on  which  a 
grant  of  land  is  recorded. 

Soon  after  this  another  war  took  place  between 
Assyria  and  Babylonia,  and  the  king  of  Assyria  de 
feared  Nazi-murudas,  king  of  Babylonia,  at  the  city 


88  HISTORY    OF    BABYLONIA. 

of  Kar-istar-agarsal.  No  other  details  of  this  war  are 
known ;  and  from  our  broken  notice  it  appears  to 
have  been  about  some  question  of  boundary.  A 
rectification  of  the  frontier  took  place  in  favour  of 
Assyria,  it  being  now  marked  close  to  the  river 
Turnat. 

The  name  of  the  Assyrian  sovereign  who  defeated 
Nazi-murudas  is  lost ;  but  this  may  have  been  con- 
nected with  the  conquest  of  Babylonia  by  Tugulti- 
ninip,  king  of  Assyria.  Tugulti-ninip,  son  of  Shal- 
maneser,  ruled  over  Assyria  probably  at  the  beginning 
of  the  thirteenth  century  B.C.,  and  we  have  the  bare 
record  left  with  respect  to  him,  that  he  conquered 
Babylonia,  and  annexed  it  to  Assyria,  ruling  under 
the  titles  of  "king  of  Assyria"  "conqueror  of  Kar- 
duniyas,"  and  "king  of  Sumir  and  Akkad."  This 
conquest  of  Babylonia  probably  forms  an  important 
era  in  the  history,  and  may  be  the  starting-point  of 
the  period  of  526  years  of  Assyrian  empire,  according 
to  Herodotus  and  Berosus.  The  date  of  the  event  is 
supposed  to  be  B.C.  1273,  Dut  it  must  De  noticed 
that  all  the  dates  in  this  part  of  the  history  are  ex- 
tremely doubtful,  being  rough  calculations  on  which 
Assyrian  scholars  themselves  are  not  agreed. 

The  united  dominion  of  Assyria  and  Babylonia  did 


HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA.  89 

not  last  long,  for  the  Babylonians  did  not  sit  quietly 
under  the  Assyrian  yoke.  Soon  after  the  death  of 
Tugulti-ninip,  about  B.C.  1240,  we  find  the  two 
nations  separate  and  at  war ;  the  Assyrians  led  by 
Bel-kudur-uzur,  and  the  Babylonians  by  a  king,  the 
first  part  only  of  whose  name  is  preserved — this  is 
Vul ....  The  Babylonian  sovereign  defeated  Bel- 
kudur-uzur,  king  of  Assyria,  and  the  Assyrian  monarch 
was  slain  in  the  battle ;  after  which,  perhaps  by  Baby- 
lonian influence,  Ninip-pal-esar  was  raised  to  the 
throne  of  Assyria.  The  Babylonian  monarch  made  a 
second  expedition  to  Assyria  soon  after,  about  B.C. 
12 20,  in  order  to  capture  the  capital  city  Assur  ;  but 
his  camp  was  attacked  by  Ninip-pal-esar,  and  he  was 
forced  to  retreat  to  Babylonia. 

The  history  of  this  period  is  only  known  to  us  from 
Assyrian  sources,  no  Babylonian  texts  being  known 
during  the  thirteenth  century  B.C. 


90  HISTORY    OF    BABYLONIA. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE   ELAMITES    IN    BABYLONIA. 

Elam  or  Susiana — Invasions  of  Babylonia  by  Kudur-nanhundi 
and  Chedorlaomer — Kudur-Mabuk — Flood  at  Babylon — Wars 
between  Babylon  and  Assyria — Nebuchadnezzar  I.  and  Ma- 
ruduk-nadin-ahi — Seven  unknown  kings. 

THE  difficulties  in  the  way  of  writing  a  history  of 
Babylonia  at  present  are  well  shown  by  our  inability 
to  fix  with  precision  the  various  Elamite  invasions  of 
that  country.  Elam,  or  Susiana,  embraced  the  country 
on  the  east  of  the  river  Tigris,  including  most  of  the 
plain  south  of  the  mountains,  and  a  considerable 
district  in  the  mountains,  which,  on  this  side,  bound 
the  great  Euphrates  Valley.  Elam  may  be  said 
roughly  to  have  lain  to  the  east  of  Babylonia,  the 
chief  seats  of  the  Susian  monarchy  being  on  or  near 
the  river  Ulai,  which  may  be  called  the  artery  from 
Elam.  The  Elamites  were  of  a  totally  different  race 


HISTORY    OF    BABYLONIA.  91 

from  the  Babylonians ;  for,  while  the  Babylonians  in 
historic  times  were  Semitic,  that  is,  belonged  to  the 
same  stock  as  the  Arabs,  Jews,  and  Assyrians,  the 
Elamites  were  Turanians,  and  certainly  differed  in 
language  and  religion  from  their  western  neighbours. 

The  Elamites  were  a  restless  warlike  race,  ever 
ready  to  take  up  the  sword,  and  often  making  attacks 
upon  Babylonia.  The  country  was  probably  split  up 
into  varioiis  kingdoms,  and  only  at  times  subject  to 
a  single  ruler.  The  great  cities  were  Shushan,  Ma- 
daktu,  and  Hidalu  ;  but  there  were  many  others,  the 
seats  of  local  chiefs  or  kings,  only  sometimes  subject 
to  the  power  of  the  king. 

The  power  and  influence  of  Elam  are  shown  by 
the  numerous  notices  in  the  great  Babylonian  work- 
on  astrology,  where  allusions  are  constantly  made  to 
the  wars  between  Babylonia  and  the  Elamites. 

One  of  the  Assyrian  monarchs,  Assurbanipal  (B.C. 
668-626),  gives  a  curious  relation,  to  the  effect  that  a 
king  of  Elam,  named  Kudur-nanhundi,  had  invaded 
Babylonia,  and  carried  away  an  image  of  the  goddess 
Nana,  which  was  worshipped  in  Babylonia ;  and 
Assurbanipal  appears  to  state  that  this  event  was 
1,635  years  before  his  own  conquest  of  Elam.  This 
would  give  us  the  date  of  about  B.C.  2280  for  the 


92  HISTORY   OF   BABVLOMA. 

raid  of  Kudur-nanhundi  into  Babylonia;  but  some 
doubt  hangs  over  the  interpretation  of  the  inscription, 
and  it  appears  likely  that  this  early  date  may,  after 
all,  refer  to  the  original  making  of  the  image  and  not 
to  its  captivity.  Other  mutilated  texts  appear  to 
mention  a  raid  of  Kudur-nanhundi,  king  of  Elam,  in 
the  twelfth  century  B.C. ;  and  another  Elamite 
monarch  of  the  same  name  sent  an  army  into  Baby- 
lonia during  the  reign  of  Sennacherib. 

There  is  another  detached  notice  of  the  Elamites 
in  the  i4th  chapter  of  Genesis,  where  we  are  informed 
that  an  Elamite  monarch,  named  Chedorlaomer,  that 
is,  Kudur-lagamar,  ruled  over  Babylonia,  having  under 
him  Amraphel,  or  Amarpul,  king  of  Shinar,  Arioch  of 
Ellasar,  and  Tidal,  or  Turgal,  king  of  the  Goim  (the 
Gutium  of  the  inscriptions).  Kudur-lagamar  is  said  to 
have  ruled  over  Syria,  and  part  at  least  of  Palestine, 
for  twelve  years  ;  and  then,  on  the  revolt  of  the  Cities 
of  the  Plain,  he  marched  into  Palestine,  in  the  four- 
teenth year,  and  ravaged  a  considerable  part  of  the 
country.  We  are  further  told  that,  on  his  return,  he 
was  defeated  by  Abraham  near  Damascus,  and  lost 
a  considerable  portion  of  his  booty.  The  ordinary 
marginal  chronology  of  our  Bibles  places  these  events- 
about  nineteen  centuries  B.C.  ;  but  this  date  is  by  no 


HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA,  93 

means  certain,  scholars  being  very  divided  in  opinion 
as  to  the  date  of  Abraham. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  i4th  chapter  of 
Genesis  has  preserved  a  most  valuable  fragment  of 
Babylonian  history,  and  the  names  and  circumstances 
of  the  war  so  well  correspond  with  what  we  should 
expect  in  early  Babylonian  history,  that  it  must  be 
considered  a  serious  misfortune  that  we  have  not  yet 
been  able  to  fix  the  exact  place  and  epoch  of  these 
events.1 

Just  before  the  time  of  Hammurabi,  the  influence 
of  Elam  is  again  noticed,  Simti-silhak  and  his  son 
Kudur-mabuk,  who  attained  such  power  in  Babylonia, 
belonging  to  the  north-western  part  of  that  country. 
The  Elamite  origin  of  these  rulers  has  been  recog- 
nized from  the  time  when  their  names  were  first 
discovered,  and  there  has  even  been  some  sus- 
picion of  a  connection  between  Kudur-mabuk  and 
the  Kudur-lagamar,  who  was  contemporary  with 
Abraham. 

Our  next  notice  of  Elamite  influence  in  Babylonia 
is  from  the  inscriptions  of  Esarhaddon,  king  of 

1  It  is  possible  that  Arioch  is  to  be  identified  with  Eri-Aku 
(as  the  name  of  Rim-Agu  is  also  written),  the  son  of  Kudur- 
mabug. — S. 


94  HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA. 

Assyria  and  Babylonia  B.C.  68 1.  He  relates  that 
600  years  before  his  time,  or  about  B.C.  1280,  there 
was  war  in  Babylonia,  and  one  party  broke  open  the 
treasuries  of  the  gods  Bel  and  Nebo,  and  sent  the 
gold  and  silver  into  Elam.  For  this  it  was  supposed 
the  vengeance  of  the  gods  fell  upon  Babylon,  and  one 
of  the  great  canals,  called  the  Arahtu,  or  Araxes, 
broke  its  banks  during  a  flood,  and  overwhelmed  the 
city,  sweeping  away  both  temples  and  houses  in  its 
irruption.  This  disaster  is  said  to  have  so  ruined  the 
city,  that  the  inhabitants  who  escaped  went  away, 
carrying  their  gods  with  them,  and  founded  a  city  on 
another  site. 

Here  again  comes  a  difficulty ;  such  a  calamity  was 
quite  likely  to  happen,  but  at  present  it  is  impossible 
to  fit  the  circumstance  into  any  place  in  contem- 
porary Babylonian  history. 

The  vigorous  rule  of  the  Babylonian  monarch  who 
conquered  and  killed  Bel-kudur-uzur,  king  of  Assyria, 
put  a  stop  for  a  time  to  Elamite  raids  into  Babylonia  ; 
but  after  him  reigned  a  king  named  Zamama-zakir- 
idina  B.C.  1200,  under  whom  they  once  more  com- 
menced. The  Elamite  king  made  the  usual  forays 
across  the  border,  while,  on  the  other  hand,  Assur- 
dayan,  king  of  Assyria,  to  revenge  the  late  Babylonian 


HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA.  95 

invasion  of  that  country,  crossed  the  frontier  east  of 
the  Tigris,  and  wasted  the  region  of  the  river  Turnat 
with  fire  and  sword.  During  the  late  wars,  the  terri- 
tory near  the  Lower  Zab  had  been  annexed  to  Baby- 
lonia, and  the  cities  here,  including  Laba,  Irriya,  and 
Agarsalu,  were  captured  by  the  Assyrians  and  plun- 
dered. 

Bel-zakir-uzur,  the  next  king  of  Babylonia,  was  un- 
fortunate. In  his  time  the  Elamites  were  ruled  by 
Kudur-nanhundi,  who  is  said  to  have  exceeded  all  his 
ancestors  in  his  violence  and  injury  to  Babylonia. 
He  invaded  the  country,  and  swept  over  it  like  a 
flood,  leaving  a  terrible  memory  of  the  misfortunes 
he  caused. 

Again  a  change  happened  :  a  king,  named  Nabu- 
kudur-uzur  (Nebuchadnezzar),  ascended  the  Babylo- 
nian throne,  and  soon  revived  the  power  of  the 
country.  Nebuchadnezzar  invaded  Assyria  three 
times ;  of  his  first  expedition  no  details  are  known. 
In  his  second  raid,  he  did  not  actually  come  into  con- 
tact with  the  Assyrians,  although  Assur-ris-ilim,  king 
of  Assyria,  raised  a  force  to  oppose  him.  The  Baby- 
lonian monarch  meeting  some  difficulties,  burned  his 
baggage,  and  retreated  into  his  own  country.  In  the 
third  expedition  Nebuchadnezzar  met  the  forces  of 


96  HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA. 

Assur-ris-ilim,  and  the  Assyrian  account  states  that  the 
Babylonians  were  defeated  with  some  loss  ;  but  there 
is  some  slight  doubt  over  these  details. 

Nebuchadnezzar  invaded  Elam  in  revenge  for  the 
continual  plundering  expeditions  sent  out  from  that 
country,  and  a  remarkable  circumstance  is  mentioned 
with  respect  to  this  time.  When  the  king  was  on  the 
expedition,  an  enormous  comet  appeared,  the  tail  of 
which  stretched,  like  a  great  reptile,  from  the  north  to 
the  south  of  the  heavens. 

The  revival  of  the  country  under  Nebuchadnezzar 
was  continued  under  his  successor,  Maruduk-nadin- 
ahi.  Maruduk-nadin-ahi  invaded  South  Assyria,  and 
having  worsted  Tugulti-pal-esar,  or  Tiglath-pileser, 
king  of  Assyria,  in  battle,  captured  the  city  of  Hekali, 
and  carried  off  from  there  the  images  of  the  Assyrian 
deities,  Vul  and  Sala. 

Tiglath-pileser,  a  monarch  of  great  courage  and 
military  ability,  did  not  rest  under  his  defeat.  The  war 
was  renewed  with  fury  next  year,  and  a  battle  was 
fought  near  the  junction  of  the  Suhana  with  the 
Lower  Zab,  in  South  Assyria.  Here  Maruduk-nadin- 
ahi  was  totally  defeated,  and  the  Assyrian  monarch, 
following  up  his  advantage,  ravaged  the  region  of  the 
river  Turnat ;  then  marching  down  the  Tigris,  cap- 


HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA.  97 

tured  Dur-kurigalzu  (Akkerkuf ),  near  Baghdad ;  from 
thence  he  marched  to  Sippara  of  Shamas  (modern 
Deyr  ?),  and  after  capturing  that,  to  Sippara  of  Anu- 
nit  (modern  Abu-hubba?).  From  thence  he  marched 
in  triumph  to  the  capital,  Babylon,  which  also  fell 
into  his  hands.  The  whole  of  Upper  Babylonia 
was  wasted  in  this  expedition;  and  besides  these 
places,  Upe,  or  Opis,  on  the  Tigris,  and  the  region 
from  the  river  Khabur  to  Rapiqu  were  conquered. 

In  spite  of  these  reverses,  the  reign  of  Maruduk- 
nadin-ahi  was  on  the  whole  a  flourishing  one,  and 
several  inscriptions  of  this  period  are  known,  giving 
details  of  sales  of  property,  showing  the  prosperity  of 
the  country. 

The  next  Babylonian  sovereign,  Maruduk-sapik- 
zirrat,  made  peace  with  Assur-bel-kala,  king  of  Assyria, 
about  B.C.  noo;  but  after  his  death  a  change  of 
dynasty  took  place  at  Babylon,  and  a  new  king, 
whose  name  is  uncertain  (perhaps  Maruduk-sadu-ni), 
ascended  the  throne.  The  Assyrian  monarch  was 
hostile  to  the  new  ruler,  and  made  an  invasion  of 
Babylonia,  in  which  he  does  not  appear  to  have  gained 
any  advantage. 

Nothing  is  now  known  of  Babylonian  history  for 
some  time,  and  in  this  blank  it  is  probable  a  fragment 

H 


98  HISTORY  OF   BABYLONIA. 

of  history  should  be  placed,  which  gives  an  account 
of  the  following  seven  kings. 

Simmas-sipak,  son  of  Iriba-Sin,  was  the  governor 
or  leader  of  the  tribes  by  the  Lake  Nedjif.  He  took 
the  crown,  ruled  with  ability  and  success  for  seventeen 
years,  and  was  buried  in  the  cemetery  of  Sargon. 
There  is  a  tablet  in  the  British  Museum  dated  in  his 
twelfth  year. 

After  him  came  Hea-mukin-ziru,  son  of  Qutmar, 
who  set  himself  up  as  king,  but  was  not  recognized, 
and  only  ruled  three  months.  Kassu-nadin-ahu,  son 
of  Sappai,  followed  ;  he  ruled  for  six  years.  These 
three  kings  are  said  to  have  belonged  to  the  region  of 
the  sea  (Nedjif  Lake),  and  to  have  ruled  for  twenty- 
three  years. 

After  them  came  Ulbar-surki-idina,  son  of  Bazi, 
who  reigned  for  fifteen  years.  He  had  been  leader  of 
the  prefects  during  the  reign  of  Maruduk-nadin-ahi, 
and  is  mentioned  as  a  witness  on  several  legal  docu- 
ments. 

To  him  succeeded  his  brother,  ....  -kudur-uzur, 
for  two  years,  and  then  another  brother  ....  -Suqa- 
muna,  for  three  months :  the  reigns  of  the  three 
amounting,  it  is  said,  to  twenty  years  and  three 
months.  After  the  rule  of  the  sons  of  Bazi,  the  king- 


HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA. 


99 


dom  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Elamites,  and  a 
monarch  of  this  race  ruled  for  six  years  ;  then  came 
another  revolution,  the  account  of  which  is  lost. 


CONTRACT   TABLET. 


H    2 


100  HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE   PERIOD   OF   THE   ASSYRIAN   WARS. 

Obscure  kings — Nabu-pal-iclina  and  Assur-nazir-pal — Disputed 
succession — Conquests  of  Shalmaneser — The  Chaldees — Ma- 
ruduk-zakir-izkur — Semiramis — The  era  of  Xabonassar — The 
Babylonian  campaigns  of  Tiglath-pileser. 

A  FEW  obscure  notices  are  all  that  remain  of  the  next 
period  of  Babylonian  history. 

A  king  named  Vul-pal-idina  restored  the  walls  of 
Nipur,  and  rebuilt  the  temple  at  Kisu. 

Vul-zakir-uzur  was  engaged  in  controversy  with 
Assur-narari  and  Nabu-dayan,  kings  of  Assyria. 

Iriba-maruduk  is  only  known  from  an  inscription 
on  a  weight. 

Merodach-baladan  II.,  his  son,  restored  the  temple 
of  Erech.  Sibir  invaded  Assyria,  and  burnt  the  city 
of  Adlil.  Nabu-zakir-iskun  was  at  war  with  Assyria, 
and  during  his  reign  the  king  of  Assyria  invaded 


HISTORY    OF    BABYLONIA.  IOI 

Babylonia,  capturing  several  cities  along  the  Tigris ; 
among  them  Baghdad  is  now  mentioned  for  the  first 
time.1 

With  these  doubtful  notices  some  two  hundred 
years  pass,  until  the  time  of  Nabu-pal-idina,  who 
reigned  from  about  B.C.  880  to  853.  During  his  time 
the  Assyrian  power  was  reviving  under  Assur-nazir- 
pal,  and  the  Babylonians  felt  some  alarm  at  the  pro- 
gress of  that  conqueror. 

When  in  B.C.  879  Assur-nazir-pal  determined  to 
attack  the  Suhi  or  Shuites,  and  Sadadu,  prince  of 
Shua,  sent  to  Babylon  for  aid,  Nabu-pal-idina  resolved 
to  assist  them,  in  order  to  check  the  power  of  Assyria. 
Accordingly  a  Babylonian  force  marched  to  the  aid 
of  the  Shuites,  who  lived  along  the  river  Euphrates, 
below  its  junction  with  the  Khabur.  The  capital 
city  of  the  Shuites  was  named  Sum  ;  it  lay  on  the  left 
or  eastern  bank  of  the  Euphrates,  and  close  to  the 
stream.  The  Babylonian  force,  largely  composed  of 
the  Kassi,  joined  the  troops  of  the  Shuites,  and  both 
occupied  Suru,  awaiting  the  coming  of  Assur-nazir- 
pal.  The  Assyrian  monarch  passing  along  by  the 


1  This  is  doubtful.     The  name  of  the  city  may  be  read  Khu- 
dadu,  as  well  as  Bagdadu. — S. 


IO2  HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA. 

Khabur  to  its  junction  with  the  Euphrates,  and  then 
marching  down  the  Euphrates,  arrived  at  Suru,  where 
he  found  the  Shuites  and  Babylonians  entrenched. 
Assur-nazir-pal  at  once  attacked  the  place,  and  after 
two  days'  fighting,  carried  it  by  assault  Sadudu,  with 
seventy  of  his  men,  threw  himself  into  the  Euphrates 
to  save  his  life,  and  escaped  the  hands  of  the  Assy- 
rians. In  the  city,  Assur-nazir-pal  captured  fifty  car- 
riages and  their  men  belonging  to  Nabu-pal-idina,  king 
of  Babylonia,  with  Zabdan  his  brother,  three  thousand 
troops,  and  Bel-pal-idina,  the  leader  of  the  army.  Be- 
sides these,  numbers  of  the  soldiers  were  slain,  and 
much  treasure  of  all  descriptions  fell  into  the  hands 
of  the  Assyrians. 

This  disastrous  end  to  his  attempt  to  check  the 
Assyrian  power  led  Nabu-pal-idina  to  adopt  in  future 
a  policy  of  non-intervention ;  and  when  next  year  the 
whole  region  of  the  Khabur  and  the  land  of  Shua 
revolted  against  Assyria,  the  Babylonian  monarch  did 
not  interfere. 

An  agreement  was  subsequently  arrived  at,  by  which 
the  frontiers  of  Assyria  and  Babylonia  were  definitely 
settled,  and  a  treaty  followed  between  Nabu-pal-idina 
andShalmaneser,son  of  Assur-nazir-pal,  king  of  Assyria. 

These   boundaries   were    as   follows :   on  the  Eu- 


HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA.  103 

phrates,  the  city  of  Rapiqu  south  of  Shua,  about 
latitude  34° ;  on  the  east  of  the  Tigris,  the  line  pass- 
ing along  by  the  cities  of  Tul-bari;  the  mounds 
of  Zabdan  and  Abtani  to  the  cities  of  Hirimu  and 
Harutu ;  these  places  all  lying  south  of  the  Lower 
Zab.  These  lines  of  boundary  were  really  the  tra- 
ditional limits  of  the  two  powers ;  and  although  they 
had  fluctuated  from  time  to  time,  there  had  been  no 
real  advance  on  either  side  for  the  past  five  hundred 
years. 

About  B.C.  853  Nabu-pal-idina  died,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  his  son  Maruduk-zakir-izkur ;  but  another 
claimant  for  the  throne  appeared  in  the  person  of 
Maruduk-bel-usati,  a  brother  of  the  new  king,  who 
raised  a  revolt  and  seized  a  considerable  part  of  the 
country. 

Shalmaneser,  king  of  Assyria,  who  had  been  on 
friendly  terms  with  the  father  of  the  two  contending 
princes,  in  B.C.  852  marched  into  Babylonia  to  settle 
the  matter.  He  passed  the  Lower  Zab,  and  marching 
to  the  region  of  the  river  Turnat,  he  captured  Me- 
Turnat  and  Lahiru. 

Next  year  he  went  again  to  Babylonia,  B.C.  851, 
and  brought  Maruduk-bel-usati  to  bay  in  Gananati  • 
here  he  defeated  him,  and  the  Babylonian  prince  fled 


% 

104  HISTORY    OF    BABYLONIA. 

to  Halman  -in  the  mountains  east  of  the  Tigris.  Here 
he  was  followed  by  the  Assyrians  and  killed,  with  his 
principal  adherents.  After  the  death  of  Maruduk- 
bel-usati,  Shalmaneser  marched  in  triumph  to  Babylon, 
Borsippa,  and  Cutha,  and  offered  high  sacrifices  on 
the  altars  there  to  the  chief  divinities  of  the  country. 
Shalmaneser  then  went  to  the  home  of  the  Chaldees, 
the  region  of  the  lake  of  Nedjif,  called  then  the  seu 
of  Marute.  This  is  the  second  time  the  Chaldees  are 
mentioned  in  the  inscriptions,  the  first  notice  being 
a  poetical  statement  of  Assur-nazir-pal,  B.C.  879, 
who  states  that  the  terror  of  his  soldiers  swept  over 
Chaldea. 

Of  the  origin  of  the  Chaldees  we  know  nothing. 
Some  of  the  early  Babylonian  dynasties  are  called 
Chaldean  by  Berosus,  and  we  sometimes  use  the  word 
to  designate  these  early  sovereigns;  but  nothing  is 
really  known  of  the  Chaldees  at  that  period,  and  they 
are  not  mentioned  in  any  known  document  before 
B.C.  879.  They  were  probably  a  new  race,  which 
had  not  long  appeared  in  Babylonia ;  and  their  being 
located  on  the  west  of  Babylonia  and  in  the  region  of 
the  Persian  Gulf,  makes  it  probable  that  they  were 
immigrants  from  the  part  of  Arabia  lying  near  the 
shore  of  the  Persian  Gulf.  A  theory  has  been  pro- 


HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA.  105 

pounded  that  they  originally  came  from  North  As- 
syria :  this  is  purely  visionary,  and  is  opposed  to  the 
evidence  of  the  inscriptions.1 

In  the  time  of  Maruduk-zakir-izkur,  the  Chaldeans 
had  not  possession  of  Babylonia,  but  were  considered  as 
outlying  tribes,  governed  by  their  own  kings  ;  and  they 
were  divided  into  two  principal  branches,  the  Dak- 
kuri,  lying  west  of  the  Euphrates  by  Nedjif,  and  the 
Ukan  or  Yakin,  lying  south-east  of  these  by  the  Eu- 
phrates, extending  to  the  Persian  Gulf.  Adini,  king 
of  the  Dakkuri,  and  Musallim-maruduk,  of  the  Ukani, 
gave  presents  as  tribute  to  Shalmaneser  in  the  city  of 
Babylon. 

The  next  monarch  known  in  Babylonia  bore  the 
name  Maruduk-baladsu-iqbi,  and  reigned  during  the 
time  of  Samsi-Vul,  king  of  Assyria.  In  his  fourth 
expedition,  about  B.C.  820,  this  Assyrian  monarch 
marched  into  Babylonia,  and  after  indulging  in  the 

1  The  Chaldeans  are  called  Caldai  on  the  monuments,  a  word 
which  cannot  be  identified  with  the  Casdim  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment (translated  "  Chaldeans,"  or  "Chaldees,"  in  our  version). 
The  word  Casdim  is  perhaps  connected  with  the  Assyrian  casidu, 
' '  conqueror. "  The  Caldai  first  obtained  possession  of  Babylonia 
under  Merodach-Baladan,  B.C.  722,  and  from  that  time  forward 
formed  so  integral  a  part  of  the  population  of  the  country  as  to 
give  their  name  to  it. — S. 


106  HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA. 

diversion  of  a  lion-hunt  on  the  w^ay,  reached  the 
region  of  the  river  Turnat,  where  he  besi  eged  the  city 
of  Me-Turnat.  The  people  of  this  city  submitted,  and 
were  sent  as  captives  to  Assyria ;  and  then,  crossing 
the  river  Turnat,  the  Assyrian  king  attacked  and  de- 
stroyed the  city  of  Garsale  and  two  hundred  cities 
round  it.  Then,  passing  Yalman  and  besieging  Di- 
hibina,  which  submitted,  but  was  hardly  treated,  three 
hundred  villages  round  were  spoiled ;  then,  marching 
to  Datebir,  he  destroyed  two  hundred  more  places, 
trampling  down  the  plantations,  burning  the  villages, 
killing  the  men,  and  carrying  away  the  women  and 
valuables.  Some  of  the  fugitives  fled  to  Kiribti-alani 
for  shelter ;  but  the  Assyrians  followed  them,  and  de- 
stroyed the  city,  killing  there  five  hundred  men.  The 
fugitives  who  escaped  fled  to  the  city  of  Dur-papsukul, 
which  was  situated  in  the  midst  of  a  stream,  and  was 
very  difficult  to  approach.  The  Assyrians  attacked 
and  captured  the  city,  and  took  four  hundred  and 
forty -seven  villages,  putting  to  the  sword  three  thou- 
sand people,  and  carrying  away  about  an  equal  num- 
ber. Here  the  Assyrians  sacked  a  palace  of  the  king 
of  Babylonia,  and  carried  away  rich  spoil.  Maruduk- 
baladsu-iqbi,  king  of  Babylon,  in  the  mean  time  was 
preparing  to  resist  this  invasion,  and  collected  a  mis- 


HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA.  1 07 

cellaneous  army,  partly  of  Babylonians  and  partly  of 
mercenaries,  from  Chaldea,  Elam,  Zimri,  and  Aram ; 
these  he  posted  at  Ahadaba,  near  Dur-papsukul.  Here 
he  was  attacked  by  Samsi-Vul,  and  completely  de- 
feated ;  five  thousand  of  his  troops  were  slain,  and 
two  thousand  captured;  one  hundred  chariots,  two 
hundred  carriages,  his  pavilion,  couch,  and  his  camp 
also  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  victors. 

Nothing  is  known  of  the  fruits  of  this  war,  and  it  is 
uncertain  if  the  Assyrians  reaped  any  benefit  but 
plunder  from  the  expedition. 

A  little  later  in  the  reign  of  Samsi-Vul,  king  of 
Assyria,  war  was  renewed  in  Babylon.  In  B.C.  816, 
the  Assyrians  marched  to  Zaratu,  and  next  year  again 
to  the  region  of  the  Turnat  where  they  took  the  city 
of  Dur,  and  celebrated  a  festival  to  the  great  god 
of  that  place.  In  B.C.  814  the  Assyrians  attacked 
Ahsana,  and  in  B.C.  813  advanced  to  Chaldea, 
then  in  a  final  campaign  marched  to  Babylon  in 
B.C.  812. 

Unfortunately  no  details  are  preserved  of  these 
wars,  and  thus  we  have  no  knowledge  of  the  condi- 
tion of  the  country  and  the  events  which  took  place. 
It  is  apparent,  however,  that  the  Assyrians  were  now 
gaining  ground;  and,  besides  the  country  open  to 


I08  HISTORY    OF    BABYLONIA. 

their  inroads,  it  is  probable  that  they  now  annexed 
the  region  of  the  river  Turnat  on  the  east  of  the 
Tigris.  At  any  rate,  the  boundary  between  the  Zab 
and  Turnat  is  not  mentioned  again. 

The  death  of  Samsi-Vul  took  place  about  this  time, 
B.C.  812  ;  and  Vul-nirari  III.  ascended  the  throne  of 
Assyria. 

The  new  king  was  engaged  for  several  years  in 
expeditions  to  Syria  and  Media,  and  it  was  not  until 
B.C.  796  that  he  marched  against  Babylonia.  In  this 
and  the  next  year  the  town  of  Dur,  which  was  a  fron- 
tier town  of  Babylonia,  was  the  point  of  attack,  no 
advance  being  made  into  the  interior  of  the  country. 
A  little  later,  in  B.C.  791,  an  expedition  was  made 
by  the  Assyrians  against  a  border  tribe  named  the 
Ituha ;  these,  probably,  lay  above  Hit  on  the  Eu- 
phrates. 

These  three  slight  expeditions  of  the  Assyrians, 
which  may  not  have  been  directed  against  the  Baby- 
lonian monarchy,  indicate  a  change  of  policy,  and  a 
period  of  peace  between  Babylonia  and  Assyria.  After 
the  long  wars  of  the  last  reign,  the  leadership  of 
Assyria  had  been  generally  acknowledged,  and  the 
Chaldean  kings  now  gave  tribute  to  Assyria. 

The  wife  of  Vul-nirari,  king  of  Assyria,  was  named 


HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA.  1 09 

Sammuramat,  or  Semiramis ;  she  is  supposed  by  many 
to  be  the  celebrated  queen  of  that  name  mentioned 
by  Herodotus,  who  was  said  to  have  built  the  city  of 
Babylon.  Some  connection  between  Assyria  and 
Babylonia  is  argued  on  these  grounds;  but  these 
conclusions  are  very  doubtful,  and  there  is  not  the 
slightest  proof  of  any  political  union  between  the 
two  countries  during  this  reign.  The  name  of  Semi- 
ramis may  have  belonged  to  several  queens,  and  the 
celebrated  woman  of  that  name  probably  flourished 
much  earlier. 

During  the  reign  of  the  next  Assyrian  sovereign, 
Shalmaneser  III.,  B.C.  783-773,  there  were  three  ex- 
peditions to  Ituha,  in  B.C.  783,  782,  and  777  ;  and  in 
the  following  reign,  that  of  Assur-dayan,  B.C.  773-755, 
there  was  one  to  Gananati,  B.C.  771,  one  to  Ituha, 
B.C.  769,  and  a  second  to  Gananati,  in  B.C.  767. 
No  details  of  these  wars  are  known,  and  after  the  last 
expedition  complete  darkness  comes  over  the  history 
of  Babylonia  for  twenty  years.  When  the  history  of 
Babylonia  recommences  in  B.C.  747,  we  arrive  at  a 
period  in  which  the  Assyrian  annals  are  far  more 
complete ;  and  in  the  canon  of  the  kings  of  Babylon 
left  by  Ptolemy  we  have  the  names  of  the  Babylonian 
rulers  from  this  period  down  to  the  end  of  the  kingdom. 


110  HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA. 

According  to  the  canon  of  Ptolemy,  a  ruler  named 
Nabonassar  commenced  his  first  year  at  Babylon  in 
B.C.  747,  and  reigned  down  to  B.C.  734.  In  the 
Assyrian  inscriptions  no  mention  is  made  of  Nabo- 
nassar, but  much  light  is  thrown  on  the  condition  of 
the  country.  In  the  year  B.C.  746  a  revolt  took  place 
in  Calah,  which  ended  in  the  elevation  of  Tiglath- 
pileser  to  the  Assyrian  throne,  B.C.  745 ;  and  the 
same  year  the  new  king,  preparing  for  a  more  vigor- 
ous policy,  marched  his  army  against  Babylonia. 

It  appears  from  the  notices  of  these  campaigns 
that  there  had  been  a  great  decline  of  the  central 
power  in  Babylonia,  while  various  tribes  of  Chaldeans, 
Arameans,  and  Arabs  had  increased  in  every  direc- 
tion. These  tribes  now  spread  all  over  the  country, 
owning  little  subjection  to  Babylon,  and  encroaching 
on  every  side  on  the  settled  population.  Among  them 
are  enumerated  the  Ituha,  Rubuha,  Havaran,  Luhu- 
atu,  Harilu,  Rubbu,  Rapiqu,  Hiranu,  Rabili,  Naziru, 
Nabateans,  Bagdadites,  Hindaru,  Hagarenes,  and 
many  others.  The  Chaldeans  were  now  no  longer 
divided  into  only  two  tribes ;  beside  the  Dakkuri  and 
Yakin,  there  had  arisen  the  tribes  of  Silani,  Sahala, 
and  Amukkan ;  and  another  branch  had  established 
themselves  at  the  ancient  city  of  Larak  or  Larancha. 


HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA.  Ill 

The  original  native  population  of  the  country  appears 
to  have  decayed,  and  the  Chaldeans  were  rapidly 
taking  their  place. 

The  object  of  the  first  campaign  of  Tiglath-pileser 
was  to  check  the  power  of  the  various  wandering 
tribes  now  overrunning  the  country.  The  campaign 
was  conducted  through  the  region  of  the  river  Dijaleh, 
on  the  east  of  the  Tigris;  and  from  thence  the  Assyrian 
monarch  crossed  the  Tigris,  and  captured  Dur-kuri- 
galzu  and  Sippara  of  Shamas,  together  with  the  smaller 
cities  Kalain,  Qurbut,  Pahhaz,  Kinnipur,  and  Pazitu. 
At  the  close  of  the  expedition,  Tiglath-pileser  pos- 
sessed all  the  region  of  the  Tigris,  as  low  down  as 
Nipur  (now  Niffer),  and  appointed  military  governors 
to  administer  the  districts ;  but  he  does  not  yet  appear 
to  have  attacked  the  west  of  the  country,  and  all  the 
region  of  Babylon  and  the  Euphrates  remained  inde- 
pendent. Numbers  of  the  people  conquered  in  this 
expedition  were  carried  away  by  Tiglath-pileser  to 
people  the  new  city  Kar-Assur,  which  he  now  founded 
in  South  Assyria. 

The  Chaldeans  were  but  little  affected  by  the  war  in 
B.C.  745,  as  their  principal  seats  lay  in  the  west  of  the 
country,  which  this  time  escaped  the  Assyrian  inroads. 

According  to  Ptolemy's  Canon,  Nabonassar  died 


112  HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA. 

B.C.  734,  and  was  succeeded  by  Nabius  or  Nadius, 
who  may  be  represented  by  the  Nabu-usabsi  of  the 
Assyrian  inscriptions.  This  is,  however,  doubtful,  as 
Nabius  probably  died  B.C.  732,  while  Nabu-usabsi 
is  mentioned  in  the  next  year,  B.C.  731,  when  Tiglath- 
pileser  made  his  second  expedition  to  Babylonia. 

In  this  expedition,  B.C.  731,  Tiglath-pileser  directed 
his  efforts  against  the  Chaldeans,  who  had  possession 
of  the  Euphrates  region,  the  Arameans  and  Gambuli 
on  the  Tigris  having  been  subdued  in  B.C.  745. 
Attacked  by  Tiglath-pileser,  the  various  tribes  showed 
no  union,  and  made  no  concerted  resistance ;  each 
kingdom  stood  on  its  own  defence,  and  consequently 
most  of  them  felt  the  full  force  of  the  Assyrian  attack. 

The  first  tribe  met  by  Tiglath-pileser  was  that  of  the 
Silani.  Nabu-usabsi,  king  of  the  Silani,  shut  himself 
up  in  his  capital,  Sarapanu,  where  he  was  attacked  by 
the  Assyrians,  who  captured  the  place  and  destroyed 
it.  Nabu-usabsi  fell  into  the  hands  of  Tiglath-pileser, 
and  was  impaled  in  front  of  his  capital.  His  wife  and 
children,  gods  and  wealth,  with  55,000  people,  were 
carried  captive.  The  tribe  of  Sahala  was  next  at- 
tacked ;  Zakiru  of  Sahala  was  captured,  and  sent  in 
fetters  to  Assyria.  Tiglath-pileser  then  proceeded 
against  Kinziru,  king  of  the  tribe  of  Amukkan,  whose 


HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA.  113 

capital  city  was  named  Sapiya.  Kinziru  retired  to 
Sapiya,  and  was  besieged  there  by  Tiglath-pileser. 
Considerable  time  had  been  taken  up  in  the  siege  and 
capture  of  the  other  towns,  and  the  season  was  pro- 
bably now  far  advanced.  This  was  most  probably  the 
reason  why  Tiglath-pileser,  after  ravaging  the  country 
and  destroying  the  trees,  retired  without  taking  the 
city.  While  the  Assyrian  monarch  was  engaged  in 
the  siege  of  Sapiya,  some  of  the  other  Chaldean  chiefs, 
fearing  that  if  he  captured  Sapiya  their  turn  would 
come  next,  sent  and  gave  tribute  to  Tiglath-pileser. 
These  princes  were  Balasu  (Belesys),  the  chief  of  the 
Dakkuri,  Nadini,  the  chief  of  Larancha,  and  Merodach- 
baladan,  of  the  tribe  of  Yakin,  chief  of  the  region  of  the 
Euphrates  to  the  Persian  Gulf. 

Probably  about  this  time  Tiglath-pileser  formally 
proclaimed  himself  king  of  Babylonia,  and  in  B.C. 
730  and  729  he  instituted  festivals  in  the  principal 
Babylonian  cities  in  honour  of  the  great  gods  of  the 
country.  These  offerings  were  customary  when  the 
kings  of  Assyria  went  to  Babylon.  They  are  men- 
tioned before  in  the  annals  of  Shalmaneser  II.  and 
Vul-nirari  III.  At  Babylon,  Tiglath-pileser  took  part 
in  the  ceremony  called  taking  the  hand  of  Bel,  which 
probably  accompanied  the  accession  of  a  new  king. 

i 


114  HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA. 

Here  he  also  made  sacrifices  to  Bel,  or  Merodach, 
and  his  consort  Zirat-banit.  At  Borsippa,  he  sacri- 
ficed to  Nebo  and  his  consort  Tasmit ;  and  at  Cutha, 
to  Nergal  and  his  consort  Laz.  Offerings  were  also 
made  in  the  cities  of  Kisu,  Sippara,  Nipur,  and  Ur. 
The  canon  of  Ptolemy  gives  here  the  two  names  of 
Chinzirus  and  Porus,  which  represent  Kinziru  and 
Pul,  their  first  year  in  Ptolemy  being  B.C.  731,  and 
their  last  B.C.  727. 

Some  scholars  consider  that  the  name  of  Porus,  or 
Pul,  here  given  among  the  Babylonian  kings,  repre- 
sents Tiglath-pileser,  who,  about  this  time,  claimed 
the  title  of  king  of  Babylon.  At  the  close  of  the 
reign  of  Tiglath-pileser  at  Nineveh,  and  of  Kinziru 
and  Pul  at  Babylon,  B.C.  7 2 7,  the  canon  of  Ptolemy 
gives  the  name  of  Ilulseus,  or  Yugseus,  at  Babylon, 
and  Shalmaneser  at  Nineveh.  Nothing  is  known  of 
the  connection  between  these  two,  and  it  is  probable 
that  Shalmaneser  was,  during  all  his  short  reign,  too 
busily  engaged  in  Palestine  to  visit  Babylonia  ;  but  one 
military  report  to  the  king  of  Assyria  connects  his  name 
with  some  events  at  the  city  of  Dur  and  the  land  of 
Chaldea.  It  is  believed  that  the  difficulties  met  with 
by  Shalmaneser  in  Syria  led  to  a  revolt  on  a  change 
of  dynasty  at  Nineveh,  Sargon,  the  new  Assyrian 
monarch,  ascending  the  throne  B.C.  722. 


HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA.  115 


CHAPTER  VII. 

MERODACH-BALADAN   AND   THE   DESTRUCTION    OF 
BABYLON. 

Merodach-baladan,  the  Chaldean,  conquers  Babylon — Defeated 
by  Sargon — Sargon  king  of  Babylon  for  five  years — Hagisa — 
Merodach-baladan  retakes  Babylon — Battle  of  Kisu — Bel- 
ibni  governor  of  Babylon — Assur-nadin-sum — Sennacherib's 
naval  expedition  to  Nagitu — Revolt  of  Suzub — Elam  devas- 
tated by  the  Assyrians — Battle  of  Khalule — Destruction  of 
Babylon  by  Sennacherib. 

THE  circumstances  which  happened  at  Nineveh 
at  the  time  of  Sargon's  accession  to  the  throne 
favoured  an  attempt  to  snatch  Babylonia  from  the 
grasp  of  Assyria,  and  this  was  accomplished  by 
Merodach-baladan,  one  of  the  most  remarkable  men 
in  Babylonian  history. 

He  is  first  heard  of  in  B.C.  731  sending  presents 
of  gold  and  silver,  vases  of  gold,  necklaces  of  gold 
and  pearls,  precious  woods,  robes,  spices,  oxen,  and 

I    2 


Il6  HISTORY  OF    BABYLONIA. 

sheep  as  presents  to  Tiglath-pileser  to  ward  off  an 
attack  of  the  Assyrian  army.1 

His  territory  then  lay  along  the  Euphrates,  and  he 
had  a  powerful  castle  near  the  river,  called  Dur-yakin, 
or  the  fortress  of  Yakin,  which  formed  his  centre  of 
government.  He  ruled  a  people  half-traders,  half- 
pirates,  and  by  his  activity  extended  his  power  until 
the  whole  region  of  the  Persian  Gulf  was  under 
his  sway.  His  next  step  was  to  unite  all  the  Chal- 
dean tribes,  and  then,  taking  advantage  of  the  change 
of  dynasty  at  Nineveh,  he  marched  to  Babylon,  B.C. 
722,  put  an  end  to  the  Assyrian  dominion,  and  pro- 
claimed himself  king  of  Babylonia. 

Sargon,  the  new  king  of  Assyria,  after  crushing  the 
revolt  in  Palestine,  which  had  impeded  his  predeces- 
sor, marched,  B.C.  721,  against  Babylonia.  Merodach- 
baladan,  unable  to  meet  Sargon  alone,  made  alliance 
with  Humba-nigas,  the  king  of  Elam  ;  and  when 
Sargon  descended  against  them,  he  was  met  by  the 
forces  of  the  Susian  king,  who  had  crossed  the  Ela- 
mite  frontier  to  the  city  of  Dur,  or  Duran. 

Here  a  battle  took  place,  and  the  Assyrians  drove 


1  Meroclach-baladan  is  called  the  son  of  Yagina  or  Yakin,  the 
Yugseus  of  Ptolemy's  Canon. — S. 


HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA.  1 17 

back  the  army  of  Humba-nigas.  After  which,  ad- 
vancing into  Babylonia,  Sargon  wasted  the  lands  of 
some  of  the  tribes,  but  did  not  come  up  with  Mero- 
dach-baladan,  or  reach  Babylon  itself.  Next  year 
Sargon  was  forced  to  march  into  Syria ;  and  he  was 
engaged  in  Media,  Armenia,  Asia  Minor,  and  Pales- 
tine down  to  the  year  B.C.  711,  having  no  opportunity 
of  renewing  his  expedition  against  Babylon. 

During  this  period  Merodach-baladan  governed 
Babylonia  with  ability,  and  the  country  was  generally 
prosperous  ;  but  expecting  an  attack  from  Sargon,  he 
sent,  about  B.C.  712,  an  embassy  to  Hezekiah,  king 
of  Judah,  to  make  an  alliance  with  him  against 
Assyria. 

The  period  for  this  resistance  was,  however,  past. 
In  B.C.  711,  Sargon  came  down  on  Palestine,  and 
crushed  the  revolt  there,  and  then  prepared  to  attack 
Merodach-baladan. 

Failing  in  his  projected  alliance  with  Judah,  Mero- 
dach-baladan sent  to  Sutur-nanhundi,  or  Sutruk- 
nanhundi,  king  of  Elam,  and  induced  him  to  join  in 
a  league  against  Assyria. 

With  respect  to  the  origin  of  his  expedition,  Sargon 
tells  us  that  Merodach-baladan,  son  of  Yakin,  king 
of  Chaldea,  "  who,  within  the  sweep  of  the  sea  of 


Il8  HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA. 

the  rising  sun,  had  his  country  on  the  sea  and  to  the 
flood  trusted,  the  worship  and  pledges  of  the  great 
gods  forsook,  and  ceased  his  presents.  Humba- 
nigas,  the  Elamite,  to  his  aid  he  had  brought,  and  all 
the  Suti,  the  people  of  the  desert,  he  had  made  hostile ; 
he  had  prepared  war,  and  the  countries  of  Sumir 
and  Akkad  for  twelve  years  against  the  will  of 
the  gods,  and  Babylon,  the  city  of  Bel,  he  had  pos- 
sessed and  controlled." 

Both  parties  in  the  coming  struggle  appealed  to  the 
same  deities,  and  both  accused  the  other  of  impiety, 
while  the  Babylonian  priests  stood  ready  to  bless 
either  if  victorious. 

Merodach-baladan,  aware  of  the  coming  attack, 
was  not  idle.  He  repaired  the  fortifications,  and  col- 
lected his  army,  calling,  among  others,  the  tribe  of 
Gambul  to  garrison  the  city  of  Dur-athara,  which  lay 
near  the  river  Surappi,  on  the  road  of  Sargon  to 
Babylon;  and  he  strengthened  the  fortifications,  in 
the  hope  that  the  place  would  stop  the  advance  of 
Sargon.  To  the  help  of  the  Gambulai  he  threw  into 
the  city  600  horses  and  4,000  troops,  and  to  increase 
the  defence,  they  pierced  the  banks  of  the  Surappi, 
and  flooded  the  region  round  the  city.  These  pre- 
cautions were  of  no  avail.  Sargon  invested  the  city, 


HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA.  1 19 

and  captured  it  in  the  evening,  taking  18,490  pri- 
soners, with  horses,  asses,  camels,  oxen,  and  sheep. 
A  considerable  body  of  people,  under  eight  chiefs, 
who  had  sheltered  themselves  in  the  marshes  and 
reed-beds  beside  the  river  Ukni,  hearing  of  the  capture 
of  the  city,  were  terrified,  and  sent  a  present  of  oxen 
and  sheep  to  Sargon  as  a  token  of  submission.  The 
Assyrian  monarch  rebuilt  the  city,  calling  it  Dur-Nabu. 
He  appointed  a  general  in  command,  and  directed 
the  payment  of  an  annual  tribute  of  i  talent  30  manas 
of  silver,  a  quantity  of  grain,  one  ox,  and  one  sheep. 
Several  other  places  fell,  among  them  Qarinani, 
the  city  of  Nabu-uzalla,  chief  of  the  Gambulai.  Three 
other  tribes,  the  Hindaru,  the  Yatbur,  and  the  Puqudu 
(the  Pekod  of  Jeremiah  1.  21),  fled  in  the  night,  and 
taking  to  the  water  of  the  river  Ukni,  made  the  canal 
of  Umliyas  their  refuge.  Sargon  shut  them  in  by  build- 
ing two  forts  of  reeds  and  mud,  and  they  were  starved 
into  a  surrender.  Yanuqu  of  Zame,  Nabu-uzalla  of 
Aburi,  Izmasunu  and  Haukanu  of  Nuhani,  and  Sahali 
of  Ibuli,  five  chiefs  of  the  Pekod, — Abhata,  chief  of  the 
Ruhua  and  Bel-ninu,  Samiha,  Saphar,  and  Rapiha, 
chiefs  of  the  Hindaru,  were  the  leaders  who  sub- 
mitted, and  their  tribute  was  paid  in  oxen  and  sheepr 
delivered  in  the  city  of  Athara.  Fourteen  of  the 


120  HISTORY  OF   BABYLONIA. 

principal  cities  by  the  river  Ukni  were  now  ravaged, 
and  Sargon  then  attacked  Samhana  and  Dur-sar,  two 
fortresses  of  Sutur-nanhundi,  king  of  Elam,  which 
were  situated  in  the  district  of  Yatbur,  on  the  east  of 
the  Tigris.  Singusibu,  the  Elamite  commander,  and 
7,520  of  the  Elamite  troops,  12,062  people,  with 
horses,  camels,  asses,  mules,  and  much  spoil,  were 
captured.  Up  to  this  time  the  region  of  Lahiru  had 
belonged  to  Elam ;  now  Sargon  captured  it,  and 
added  it  to  the  Assyrian  borders ;  then  passing  the 
Elamite  cities  of  Tul-humba,  Bube,  and  Hamanu,  in 
the  district  of  Rasi,  he  attacked  Bit-imbi,  and  entered 
it.  During  this  raid  into  his  territories,  Sutur-nan- 
hundi, king  of  Elam,  retired  with  his  army  to  the 
mountains,  fearing  to  meet  the  large  and  well-equipped 
army  brought  into  his  country  by  Sargon.  The  mo- 
tive of  the  Assyrian  monarch  was  to  drive  back  the 
Susians,and  prevent  them  from  giving  aid  to  Merodach- 
baladan  ;  and  for  this  purpose  he  garrisoned  the  cities 
he  had  captured  from  the  Elamites  in  Yatbur,  and 
held  them  to  protect  his  rear,  while  he  marched  west- 
ward across  the  Tigris  to  attack  Merodach-baladan 
Passing  over  the  intermediate  country,  he  crossed  to 
the  west  of  the  Euphrates,  and  took  up  his  head- 
quarters at  Dur-ladini,  in  the  district  inhabited  by  the 


HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA.  121 

tribe  of  Dakkuri.  Merodach-baladan,  who  was  then 
at  Babylon,  was  at  once  alarmed,  and  sent  rich  pre- 
sents, a  couch  and  a  throne  of  silver,  a  table,  a  plate 
and  goblet,  all  of  silver,  and  a  necklace,  to  Sutur- 
nanhundi,  king  of  Elam,  with  urgent  requests  that  he 
would  come  to  his  aid.  The  Susian  monarch,  how- 
ever, had  just  felt  the  weight  of  the  Assyrian  sword  ; 
his  borders  were  ravaged,  his  frontier  forts  captured 
and  garrisoned  by  the  troops  of  Sargon,  and  he  him- 
self had  retired  to  the  mountainous  district  in  the  east 
of  his  dominions  for  fear  of  the  Assyrians.  Under 
these  circumstances,  Sutur-nanhundi  sent  to  say  that 
the  Assyrian  forces  blocked  his  way,  and  he  could  not 
come. 

Merodach-baladan  now  found  himself  alone,  and 
being  a  foreigner  at  Babylon,  could  not  depend  upon 
the  people  in  a  siege ;  he  therefore  retired  at  once 
to  the  city  of  Iqbi-Bel,  preparatory  to  a  further  retreat 
to  Dur-yakin.  The  judgment  of  Merodach-baladan 
was  confirmed  by  the  event ;  for  no  sooner  had  he 
left  the  city  than  the  priests  and  people  of  Babylon 
and  Borsippa  sent  an  embassy,  headed  by  some  of 
the  leading  men  of  the  city,  to  invite  Sargon  to  enter. 

The  Assyrian  king  then  entered  Babylon  in  triumph, 
and  set  to  work  at  once  to  repair  the  canal  which  ran 


122  HISTORY   OK    BABYLONIA. 

from  Babylon  to  Borsippa,  and  to  offer  rich  sacrifices 
to  the  gods  of  the  country.  During  the  advance  of 
the  army  of  Sargon,  a  tribe  named  the  Hamaran, 
took  advantage  of  the  confusion  to  plunder.  Throw- 
ing themselves  into  the  city  of  Sippara,  they  issued 
from  it  from  time  to  time  to  ravage  the  lands  of 
the  Babylonians. 

Sargon,  as  soon  as  he  took  possession  of  Babylon, 
sent  a  force  against  them,  and  besieged  the  city  of 
Sippara,  which  he  captured,  making  a  severe  example 
of  the  whole  tribe.  These  operations  concluded  the 
campaign,  and  Sargon  prepared  to  drive  Merodach- 
baladan  out  of  Chaldea.  Next  year,  B.C.  709,  in 
the  month  lyyar,  the  Assyrian  monarch  started  from 
Babylon  and  marched  towards  Iqbi-Bel. 

Meanwhile,  Merodach-baladan  had  retreated  from 
Iqbi-Bel,  carrying  his  gods  with  him,  and  entering  the 
city  of  Dur-yakin,  near  the  Euphrates,  he  called  toge- 
ther the  tribes  who  were  still  faithful  to  him,  and  the 
people  of  Ur,  Erech,  Eridu,  Larsa,  Zarilab,  Kisik,  and 
Nimit-laguda,  the  cities  in  the  south,  which  still  ac- 
knowledged his  authority ;  and  massing  a  large  army, 
placed  Dur-yakin  in  a  state  of  defence.  With  him 
were  the  remnants  of  the  tribes  which  Sargon  had 
conquered — the  Gambulai,  .Pekod,  Damun,  Ruhua, 


HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA.  123 

and  Hindaru — and  he  set  his  people  to  work  to  dig  a 
wide  trench,  200  cubits  wide  (340  feet)  and  i-|  gurs 
(30  feet)  deep,  round  the  city  of  Dur-yakin ;  then 
opening  a  channel  to  the  Euphrates,  he  flooded  this 
ditch,  and  breaking  down  the  bridges  which  he  had 
built  across  it,  prepared  to  resist  a  siege.  Sargon 
passed  his  troops  across  the  ditch,  and  attacked  the 
Chaldeans,  who  were  caught  in  a  net,  and  defeated 
with  great  slaughter.  The  royal  pavilion  of  Merodach- 
baladan,  his  couch  of  gold,  throne  of  gold,  chair  of 
gold,  sceptre  of  gold,  chariot  of  silver,  covered  car- 
riage of  gold,  with  his  other  goods,  and  all  his  camp, 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Assyrians,  while  the  Chal- 
dean monarch,  impelled  by  fear,  fled  into  his  citadel 
with  the  remnant  of  his  forces.  This  battle  had 
taken  place  in  the  space  between  the  ditch  and  the 
city  walls ;  and  Sargon  now  invested  the  city,  which 
he  soon  after  stormed  and  captured.  Merodach- 
baladan  now  submitted,  and  laid  down  his  sceptre 
before  Sargon,  who  carried  him  into  captivity,  together 
with  his  wife,  his  children,  and  his  treasures. 

Thus  the  whole  of  Babylonia  fell  into  the  hands  of 
Sargon,  who  set  to  work  to  reverse  the  policy  of  Me- 
rodach-baladan.  He  expelled  the  military  desert- 
tribes  whom  the  Chaldean  had  settled  in  the  Baby- 


124  HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA. 

Ionian  cities,  and  everywhere  made  friends  with  the 
priesthood  by  restoring  the  rites  and  offerings  of  the 
various  gods.  Sargon  also  for  some  time  held  his 
court  at  Babylon  ;  and  while  here  there  came  two 
embassies  from  opposite  sides  of  the  empire  to  ac- 
knowledge the  power  of  the  Assyrian  monarch.  One 
of  these  was  from  Uperi,  king  of  Nituk  or  Dilmun,  a 
state  which  is  said  to  have  lain  thirty  kaspu,  or  about 
210  miles,  in  the  sea  on  the  east,  being  reached 
through  the  Persian  Gulf.  Dilmun  has  not  been  iden- 
tified, and  if  it  were  not  for  the  statement  of  distance, 
it  would  be  likely  to  represent  the  region  of  the  Indus, 
for  it  was  not  the  name  of  a  small,  obscure  place,  but 
of  a  region  known  from  remote  times,  and  always 
spoken  of  as  the  eastern  boundary  on  the  sea,1 

The  second  embassy  came  from  the  West,  from  the 
seven  kings  of  Yaha,  a  district  of  Yatnan,  a  place  said 
to  be  seven  days'  sail  in  the  Mediterranean.  This 
embassy  is  usually  supposed  to  have  come  from 
Cyprus;  but  this  island  appears  too  close  to  the 
coast  to  require  such  a  voyage. 

Sargon  reigned  at  Babylon  after  his  conquest  of 
Merodach-baladan  for  five  years,  and  died  B.C.  705. 

1  Dilmun,  or  rather  Dilvun,  is  probably  the  modern  Bunder- 
Dellim.— S. 


HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA.  1 25 

During  the  reign  of  Sargon,some  troubles  took  place 
from  the  leaning  of  the  Chaldean  tribes  to  the  cause 
of  Merodach-baladan.  Partial  revolts  happened ;  but 
these  were  easily  repressed,  and  Sargon  remained  on 
the  throne  until  his  death. 

On  the  death  of  Sargon,  his  son  Sennacherib  be- 
came king  of  Assyria,  on  the  i2th  day  of  Ab,  B.C. 
705 ;  and  it  is  supposed  that  a  brother  of  the  king 
was  made  ruler  at  Babylon.  There  is,  however,  as 
usual,  considerable  obscurity  as  to  the  history  and 
succession  here.  It  appears  from  the  Chronicle  of 
Eusebius,  that  after  the  death  of  the  brother  of  Sen- 
nacherib the  Babylonians  raised  to  the  throne  Hagisa, 
or  Akises ;  and  Merodach-baladan,  escaping  from  the 
Assyrians,  murdered  the  new  ruler  after  a  reign  of 
one  month,  and  again  mounted  the  Babylonian  throne, 
B.C.  704.  This  defection  of  Babylon  called  up  Sen- 
nacherib, the  new  Assyrian  monarch,  and  he  assembled 
his  army  to  march  to  Babylon. 

The  Assyrians  marched  into  the  country,  and 
crossed  the  Tigris  in  the  direction  of  the  capital, 
meeting  little  opposition  on  their  way  until  they  came 
to  Kisu  (Hymer),  about  nine  miles  east  of  Babylon, 
where  Merodach-baladan  had  drawn  up  his  forces. 
Here  a  battle  took  place,  and  the  Babylonian  forces 


126  HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA. 

were  routed,  the  Chaldean  monarch  taking  refuge  in 
flight.  It  is  probable  that  Babylon  at  this  time  was 
not  prepared  to  stand  a  siege,  and  therefore  Merodach- 
baladan  at  once  hastened  to  the  south  to  take  refuge 
in  the  reeds  and  swamps  which  in  all  ages  have  formed 
the  shelter  of  political  refugees.  Here  in  the  district 
of  Guzuman  he  hid  himself  safely  from  his  foes,  while 
the  Assyrians  searched  the  reeds  and  marshes  in  vain 
to  find  him. 

Immediately  after  the  battle  of  Kisu.  Sennacherib 
entered  Babylon  and  plundered  the  palace,  carrying 
away  everything.  A  like  fate  awaited  all  the  other 
cities  within  reach.  According  to  one  record,  89 
cities  and  820  villages  were  destroyed,  while  an- 
other gives  76  cities  and  420  villages.  Among  these  few 
names  remain  ;  but  Sarrapanu  and  Larancha  are  men- 
tioned, and  Erech  (Warka),  Nipur  (Niffer),  Kisu  (Hy- 
mer),  Harris-kalama l  (near  Hymer),  and  Cutha  (Ibra- 
him) are  given  as  seats  of  the  Chaldeans.  After  the 
country  within  reach  of  the  Assyrian  army  had  been 
conquered  and  ravaged,  Sennacherib  set  to  work 
to  reconstruct  the  government.  With  him  he  had 
a  young  man  named  Bel-ibni,  son  of  a  Babylonian 

1  Rather  Kharsak-kalama,  "the  mountain  of  the  world,"  so 
called  from  the  name  of  its  principal  temple.— S. 


HISTORY    OF    BABYLONIA.  127 

officer.  He  had  grown  up  in  the  palace  of  the  king 
of  Assyria,  and  was  now  raised  by  Sennacherib  to  the 
throne  of  Babylonia,  his  appointment  dating  B.C.  703. 
It  appears  that  a  further  campaign  was  necessary  in 
this  year  to  chastise  the  various  nomad  tribes  wan- 
dering over  the  country.  It  is  said  that  at  the  close 
of  these  operations  208,000  people,  with  multitudes 
of  flocks  and  herds,  were  carried  captive  to  Assyria. 
Nabu-bel-zakri,  governor  of  Hararti,  was  the  only  ruler 
who  voluntarily  submitted ;  and  he,  probably  fearing 
a  visit  from  the  Assyrian  army,  sent  rich  presents  to 
Sennacherib.  The  work  of  spoiling  being  finished, 
the  Assyrian  monarch  rebuilt  the  city  of  Hirimmu, 
which  he  had  destroyed,  and  appointed  a  tribute  from 
it  of  one  ox,  ten  sheep,  ten  homers  of  wine,  and  twenty 
homers  of  first-fruits,  as  an  offering  to  the  Assyrian 
gods. 

Sennacherib  returned  to  Assyria  in  B.C.  703,  leaving 
the  government  in  the  hands  of  Bel-ibni,  and  appoint- 
ing a  force  to  watch  for  Merodach-baladan.  The 
Chaldean  prince,  finding  the  Assyrian  garrisons  too 
strong  for  him,  and  despairing  of  regaining  his  Baby- 
lonian throne,  called  together  his  adherents,  and  col- 
lecting the  images  of  his  gods,  resolved  to  lead  a 
Chaldean  colony  to  a  new  district  on  the  Persian 


128  HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA. 

Gulf.  Taking  ship  with  his  adherents,  he  abandoned 
the  country  where  he  had  struggled  for  thirty  years 
against  the  Assyrian  power,  and  carried  his  people 
down  the  Persian  Gulf  to  the  district  of  Nagitu,  on 
the  Asiatic  shore,  within  the  territory  of  Elam.  Here, 
an  exile  from  his  native  land,  Merodach-baladan 
died ;  but  he  left  several  sons,  destined  to  continue 
their  father's  work  and  continue  his  opposition  to 
Assyria.  After  the  departure  of  Merodach-baladan 
to  Nagitu,  another  Chaldean  chief  arose,  Suzub,  son 
of  Gahul,  who  collected  a  band  of  followers  at  the 
city  of  Bittut,  in  the  marsh  district  near  the  mouth  of 
the  river  Euphrates,  and  defied  the  power  of  the 
Assyrians.  To  punish  him,  Sennacherib  organized  a 
second  expedition  to  Chaldea,  in  B.C.  700,  and  de- 
feated Suzub,  who  escaped  and  hid  himself.  Then 
turning  to  Bit-yakin,  the  district  of  Merodach-baladan, 
the  Assyrian  army  ravaged  the  place,  carrying  captive 
those  who  had  not  emigrated  with  Merodach-bala- 
dan. The  rule  of  Bel-ibni  was  probably  unsatisfactory 
to  Sennacherib,  for  the  Assyrian  monarch,  at  the  close 
of  the  expedition,  gave  the  government  of  the  country 
to  his  own  eldest  son,  Assur-nadin-sum,  who  com- 
menced his  reign  B.C.  700.  The  new  Chaldean  esta- 
blishment at  Nagitu,  on  the  Persian  Gulf,  was  beyond 


HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA.  I  29 

the  reach  of  the  Assyrians,  and  independent  of  their 
influence,  while  it  formed  a  fresh  focus  of  Chaldean 
independence.  Sennacherib,  therefore,  formed  the 
design  of  subjugating  this  region ;  and  unable  to  reach 
it  by  land  through  the  hostile  country  of  Elam,  he 
directed  a  fleet  to  be  prepared,  with  a  view  to  attack 
the  emigrants  from  the  sea.  Two  stations  were  formed, 
one  at  Nineveh,  on  the  Tigris,  the  other  at  Tul-barsip 
(Biradjik),1  on  the  Euphrates ;  and  Tyrian  workmen 
were  employed  to  build  there  large  vessels  fit  for  a 
sea  voyage,  and  crews  were  selected  of  Tyrians,  Zi- 
donians,  and  Greeks.  The  Tigris  being  in  places 
shallow  on  account  of  the  dams  and  rapids,  the  ves- 
sels built  at  Nineveh  were  floated  empty  down  to  the 
city  of  Upe  (Opis),  and  there  they  were  passed  into  a 
navigable  canal,  called  the  Arahtu  or  Araxes,  and  were 
drawn  through  this  to  the  river  Euphrates,  in  the  Chal- 
dean region ;  here  the  troops  and  stores  were  waiting, 
and  the  vessels  were  loaded.  The  fleet  now  dropped 
down  the  river  to  Bab-salimiti,  on  the  right  bank  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Euphrates,  where  Sennacherib  went 
on  shore  and  pitched  his  camp.  The  troops  had 

1  Tul-barsip  is  rather  opposite  Carchemish,  the  modern  Jera- 
blus.     It  is  the  Barsampse  of  Ptolemy.     Biradjik  represents  the 
"  Birtu  of  the  Arameans"  of  the  Assyrian  inscriptions. — S. 
K 


130  HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA. 

been  five  days  descending  the  river,  until  they  reached 
the  shore  of  the  Persian  Gulf  at  Bab-salimiti.  At 
the  place  where  the  river  issued  into  the  sea,  Senna- 
cherib made  a  great  festival  in  honour  of  Hea,  the 
presiding  deity  of  the  ocean.  Images  of  fishes  and 
vessels,  made  of  gold,  were  carried  out  to  sea  and 
dropped  with  great  ceremony  into  the  ocean  by  the 
Assyrian  monarch,  while  victims  and  libations  were 
offered  to  Hea,  the  Assyrian  Neptune.  It  being  sup- 
posed that  the  gods  were  propitiated,  the  expedition 
sailed  out  to  sea  and  made  for  the  Persian  coast, 
where  the  district  of  Nagitu  was  situated.  Here  they 
came  to  the  mouth  of  the  river  Ulai,  which  formed 
the  artery  of  Nagitu,  and  in  the  vicinity  of  which  the 
cities  colonized  by  the  Chaldeans  were  situated.  It 
is  quite  evident  that  since  the  time  of  Sennacherib 
considerable  changes  have  taken  place  in  the  geo- 
graphy of  this  region  ;  the  soil  rapidly  accumulates 
at  the  head  of  the  Persian  Gulf,  and  now  the  mouth 
of  the  Ulai  no  longer  opens  into  the  sea,  but  dis- 
charges itself  into  the  Euphrates. 

On  the  arrival  of  the  Assyrian  fleet  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Ulai,  they  found  the  Chaldeans  gathered  to  re- 
ceive them.  The  colonists  inhabited  the  cities  of 
Nagitu  and  Nagitu-dihibin,  and  they  called  to  their 


HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA.  131 

assistance  the  people  of  Hilmu,  Bellatu,  and  Hupa- 
panu  drawing  up  their  forces  on  the  flat  fronting  the 
Ulai.  The  Assyrian  troops  were  disembarked,  and 
attacked  with  fury  the  Chaldeans  and  their  allies, 
routing  them  and  pursuing  them  to  their  cities,  which 
they  captured  and  spoiled.  The  people  were  cap- 
tured in  large  numbers,  and  with  their  goods  and 
cattle  forced  into  the  Assyrian  ships  and  sent  over  to 
the  city  of  Bab-salimiti  to  Sennacherib. 

While  this  expedition  was  away  at  the  Persian  Gulf, 
Suzub,  who  had  escaped  during  the  former  war,  raised 
a  force  in  the  rear  of  Sennacherib,  and  the  king  of 
Elam,  who  had  hitherto  only  given  secret  help  to  the 
Babylonians,  now  marched  his  army  to  Babylon,  and 
with  them  came  numbers  of  the  Chaldean  emigrants 
returning  to  their  country.  The  Elamite  and  Chaldean 
forces  captured  Babylon,  and  proclaimed  Suzub  king ; 
but  reinforcements  being  sent  to  the  Assyrian  army, 
they  turned  and  defeated  the  rebels,  capturing  Suzub, 
who  was  sent  bound  to  Nineveh. 

At  this  time  one  of  the  parties  fell  upon  the  city  of 
Erech,  and  plundered  it,  carrying  away  the  images  of 
the  gods ;  but  the  notice  of  this  event  is  so  ambigu- 
ous, that  it  is  uncertain  if  it  was  the  Assyrian  or  the 
Elamite  army  which  plundered  the  temples.  The 

K    2 


132  HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA. 

direct  interference  of  the  Elamites  at  Babylon  during 
these  operations,  and  their  constant  hostility  to 
Assyria,  now  led  to  a  war  between  the  two  countries. 
Sennacherib,  in  resolving  to  attack  the  Elamites,  was 
also  influenced  by  a  desire  to  recover  a  small  portion 
of  Assyrian  territory  near  Duran,  which  had  been 
attacked  and  captured  by  the  Elamites  just  before  the 
close  of  the  reign  of  Sargon.  Here  the  Elamites  had 
taken  the  two  cities  of  Bit-hairi  and  Raza,  and  this 
loss  had  not  been  recovered.  About  B.C.  697,  the 
Assyrian  monarch  set  out  with  a  large  army  to  make 
war  with  Elam,  and  after  recovering  the  lost  district 
he  went  on  to  attack  the  Elamite  cities,  which  he  cap- 
tured and  burned  one  after  another.  Thirty-four 
larger  cities,  and  numerous  smaller  villages,  were 
destroyed,  and  the  Assyrian  records  relate  that  the 
smoke  of  these  conflagrations  rose  like  a  cloud,  and 
obscured  the  face  of  the  heavens. 

During  this  destruction  of  his  cities,  Kudur-nan- 
hundi,  the  Elamite  king,  did  not  dare  to  meet  Senna- 
cherib in  the  field ;  but  fearing  for  his  own  safely, 
he  caused  his  people  to  retire  into  the  other  cities, 
and  he  himself  left  Madaktu,  his  capital,  and  fled 
into  the  mountains  to  Hidalu.  Everything  now 
seemed  at  the  mercy  of  the  Assyrian  king,  who  was 


HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA.  133 

carrying  fire  and  sword  through  the  country,  and 
sparing  nothing  in  his  progress.  The  sudden  setting 
in  of  winter  rendered  the  roads  impassable,  and  by 
stopping  the  Assyrian  monarch's  intended  march 
against  the  capital,  Madaktu,  put  an  end  to  this  war 
of  destruction,  which  had  been  carried  on  with  a 
barbarity  seldom  seen  even  then. 

Brought  to  a  halt  by  the  snow  and  rain,  Senna- 
cherib reluctantly  turned  and  retraced  his  steps  to 
Assyria ;  but  the  Elamites  did  not  easily  forget  his 
invasion ;  within  three  months  their  king  was  dead, 
and  they  raised  to  the  throne  his  brother  Umman- 
minan,  a  man  of  a  more  energetic  disposition. 

Meanwhile,  Suzub  had  escaped  from  confinement, 
and  meeting  with  numerous  other  fugitives,  all  elud- 
ing the  Assyrian  governors,  he  again  raised  a  revolt, 
and  took  to  the  marshes  for  protection.  Here  he  was 
pursued  by  the  Assyrians,  and  so  hunted,  that  he  fled 
into  Elam  to  Umman-minan,  the  king  of  that  country. 
Elam  at  once  became  a  centre  for  the  Chaldean 
refugees ;  and  Suzub,  collecting  a  number  of  these, 
came  to  Babylon,  where  the  people  again  opened 
their  gates  to  him,  and  by  general  consent  the 
Assyrians  were  expelled  from  the  country,  and  Suzub 
was  once  more  raised  to  the  throne. 


134  HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA. 

Aware  of  his  inability  to  hold  the  throne  alone, 
Suzub  broke  open  the  sacred  treasures  of  Bel  at 
Babylon,  Nebo  at  Borsippa,  and  Nergal  at  Cutha, 
and  sent  the  gold  and  silver  as  a  present  to  Umman- 
minan,  king  of  Elam,  saying :  "  Gather  thy  army, 
collect  thy  camp,  to  Babylon  come  and  strengthen 
our  hands,  for  a  master  of  war  art  thou."  Umman- 
minan  and  his  people  were  equally  ready  to  make  war 
with  Assyria,  and  to  avenge  the  ravages  of  the  Assyrian 
army  during  Sennacherib's  late  campaign,  and  call- 
ing to  his  standard  all  the  tribes  subject  to  Elam,  he 
took  the  road  to  Babylon.  An  immense  host  now 
gathered  at  this  city,  consisting  of  Elamites,  Persians, 
people  of  Anzan,  Pasiru,  Ellipi,  Yazan,  Lagapri,  Har- 
zunu,  Dummuq,  Sulai,  Samuna,  Adini,  Amukkan, 
Silan,  Sahala,  Larancha,  Lahiru,  Pekod,  Gambul, 
and  other  tribes.  Umman-minan  and  Suzub  marched 
out  from  Babylon,  about  B.C.  696,  feeling  strong 
enough  to  meet  Sennacherib  in  the  open  field.  They 
therefore  posted  their  troops  at  Halule,  on  the  Tigris, 
to  check  the  Assyrian  monarch  before  he  overran  the 
heart  of  the  country. 

Sennacherib  advanced  to  Halule  eager  to  meet  the 
rebels,  and  joined  battle  with  them,  utterly  routing 
their  troops.  The  chiefs  of  the  Elamites  and  Baby- 


HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA.  135 

lonians  had  gone  out  to  the  battle  richly  adorned, 
with  arms  inlaid  with  gold,  bracelets  and  rings  of 
gold,  riding  in  chariots  plated  with  silver ;  and  most 
of  these  trappings  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Assy- 
rians. The  Babylonian  army  gathered  at  Halule 
must  have  been  very  numerous,  for  the  Assyrians 
count  the  slain  at  the  incredible  number  of  150,000 
men.  We  are  informed,  however,  that  the  pursuit 
and  slaughter  lasted  for  four  hours  after  sunset.  A 
multitude  of  prisoners  and  heaps  of  spoil  remained 
with  the  victors,  several  of  the  chiefs,  including 
Nabu-zakir-iskun  a  son  of  Merodach-Baladan,  falling 
into  the  hands  of  Sennacherib. 

The  disastrous  battle  of  Halule  closed  for  that  year 
operations  in  Babylonia.  There  was  a  long  march 
to  Babylon;  the  season  was  probably  late,  and  the 
Assyrian  army  crippled,  and  encumbered  with  spoil. 
These  reasons  probably  determined  the  close  of  the 
campaign;  but  next  year  Sennacherib  once  more 
marched  out,  resolved  this  time  to  make  an  ex- 
ample of  Babylon.  This  was  about  B.C.  695.  Suzub 
and  Umman-minan,  after  the  battle  of  Halule,  had 
escaped  to  their  respective  countries,  and  when  Sen- 
nacherib again  invaded  Babylonia  there  was  no  at- 
tempt at  opposition  in  the  open  field ;  he  advanced 


136  HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA. 

at  once  to  Babylon,  and  appeared  before  the  city, 
which  was  ill-prepared  to  resist  him.  The  fortifica- 
tions were  stormed  and  captured,  and  the  whole  city 
given  up  to  spoil.  Suzub,  with  part  of  his  family,  fell 
into  the  hands  of  Sennacherib,  who  sent  them  to  As- 
syria j  the  treasures  of  the  city  were  plundered  by  the 
soldiers,  the  images  of  the  gods  were  brought  out  of 
the  temples  and  broken  up,  the  houses  were  pulled 
down  and  burned,  the  walls  were  levelled,  the  tem- 
ples overturned,  and  the  towers  thrown  down;  the 
city  was  levelled,  as  far  as  the  fury  of  the  Assyrian 
monarch  could  do  it,  and  the  great  canal,  called 
Araxes,  was  filled  up  with  the  ruins. 


HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA.  137 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE   RULE   OF  THE   ASSYRIANS. 

The  successors  of  Assur-nadin-sum — Nabu-zir-napisti-esir — 
Babylon  rebuilt  by  Esarhaddon — Succeeded  by  his  son  Saul- 
mugina — Wars  with  Elam — Revolt  of  Babylonia — Crushed 
by  Assur-bani-pal — Saul-mugina  perishes  in  the  flames  of  his 
palace — Nabopolassar  appointed  governor — He  marries  the- 
daughter  of  Cyaxares  of  Media — The  fall  of  Nineveh. 

VERY  little  is  known  of  the  history  of  Babylonia  for 
some  years  after  its  destruction  by  Sennacherib. 
Suzub  again  escaped  from  captivity,  and  opposed 
Sennacherib;  but  he  was  ultimately  killed  by  a  fall 
from  his  horse.  Assur-nadin-sum,  son  of  Sennacherib, 
who  had  reigned  whenever  the  Assyrians  held  Babylon, 
died  B.C.  694,  and,  according  to  Ptolemy,  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Rigebel;  after  whom  came  Mesesi-mar- 
dochus,  B.C.  693  to  689.  From  this  time,  not  even  the 
names  of  the  Babylonian  rulers  appear,  and  the  city 
remained  in  obscurity  until  the  reign  of  Esarhaddon. 


138  HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA. 

During  this  time,  a  son  of  Merodach-baladan, 
named  Nabu-zir-napisti-esir,  took  possession  of  his 
father's  original  territory  near  the  Persian  Gulf;  and 
after  strengthening  himself  there,  he  aspired  to  the 
dominion  of  the  whole  of  Babylonia.  After  the 
murder  of  Sennacherib  his  sons  disputed  the  crown, 
and  taking  advantage  of  the  confusion,  the  Chaldean 
prince,  in  B.C.  681,  marched  against  the  city  of  Ur 
(Mugheir),  then  governed  by  Ningal-idina,  who  was 
faithful  to  the  Assyrian  empire.  Having  failed  to 
separate  the  governor  of  Ur  from  the  interest  of  the 
Assyrians,  he  besieged  the  city,  and  when  Esarhaddon, 
having  gained  a  decisive  victory  over  his  brothers,  was 
proclaimed  king  at  Nineveh,  Nabu-zir-napisti-esir  disre- 
garded his  accession,  and  continued  his  hostilities 
against  Assyria.  Esarhaddon,  hearing  of  this,  ordered 
the  Assyrian  generals  who  were  stationed  in  Baby- 
lonia to  march  against  him;  and  unable  to  meet 
their  forces,  the  Chaldean  prince  fled  into  Elam,  the 
old  refuge  of  his  father.  The  reign  of  Esarhaddon 
had  opened  with  great  promise,  and  he  had  assumed 
the  crowns  of  both  Assyria  and  Babylonia.  The 
Elamites  now  appeared  disinclined  to  quarrel  with 
him,  and  did  not  take  up  the  cause  of  the  son  of  their 
old  ally,  Merodach-baladan.  Nabu-zir-napisti-esir 


HISTORY  OF   BABYLONIA.  139 

thus  found  Elam  an  insecure  refuge,  and  soon  after 
his  arrival  there  was  treacherously  murdered.  His 
brother,  Nahid-Maruduk,  who  had  followed  his  for- 
tunes and  shared  his  flight  to  Elam,  when  he  saw 
the  death  of  Nabu-zir-napisti-esir,  alarmed  for  his 
own  safety,  fled  out  of  the  country,  and  threw  himself 
upon  the  mercy  of  Esarhaddon.  The  Assyrian  mo- 
narch received  him  favourably,  accepting  his  homage, 
and  appointing  him  to  the  government  of  the  district 
of  the  sea-coast,  which  his  brother  had  forfeited  by 
rebellion. 

As  soon  as  he  had  settled  his  affairs  in  Assyria, 
Esarhaddon  came  in  person  to  Babylon  (January, 
B.C.  680),  and  set  to  work  to  restore  the  city,  which 
had  been  ruined  by  the  late  wars.  He  rebuilt  the 
great  temples  and  towers,  restored  the  fortifications, 
and  brought  back  the  captive  images  of  the  gods. 
Under  the  fostering  care  of  Esarhaddon,  Babylon 
soon  again  became  a  great  city,  and  the  rival  of  Nine- 
veh. During  the  depression  of  Babylon,  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  reign  of  Sennacherib,  the  chief  of  the 
Chaldean  tribe  of  Dakkuri,  whose  home  was  on  the 
edge  of  the  desert  west  of  Babylon,  had  encroached 
upon  the  grounds  of  the  people  of  Babylon  and  Bor- 
sippa.  These  people  Esarhaddon  checked,  and  put 


140  HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA. 

a  stop  to  their  inroads.  He  seized  Samas-ibni,  their 
king,  and  burned  him,  as  a  punishment,  and  set  up 
in  his  place  a  chief  named  Nabu-usallim.  Soon  after 
this  the  new  chief  sent  an  urgent  despatch  to  Esar- 
haddon,  because  the  marsh  tribes  had  gathered  in 
Bit-amukkan,  and  endeavoured  to  renew  the  depre- 
dations which  had  been  carried  on  in  the  time  of 
Samas-ibni.  He  prays  the  king  to  send  to  Sadu, 
governor  of  Amukkan,  and  check  these  raids.  Sub- 
sequently Esarhaddon  was  informed  that  Nabu-usal- 
lim, whom  he  had  raised  to  office,  was  endeavouring  to 
purchase  horses;  and  the  governor  of  Babylon,  for 
Esarhaddon,  stated  that  the  governor  of  the  Dakkuri 
desired  to  raise  a  force  to  attack  the  Assyrian  army, 
and  renew  the  raids  of  Samas-ibni,  in  consequence  of 
which  he,  as  viceroy  of  the  king  of  Assyria,  forbade 
the  sales  in  the  name  of  Esarhaddon. 

In  the  same  letter  the  governor  of  Babylon  informs 
Esarhaddon  of  the  arrival  of  Bel-basa,  son  of  Bunanu, 
at  Babylon  and  Borsippa,  from  which  cities  he  went 
to  the  land  of  the  tribe  of  Dakkuri.  Bel-basa  was 
chief  of  the  tribe  of  Gambul,  which  lived  in  the 
marshes  by  the  Tigris,  close  to  the  Elamite  frontier. 
He  was  induced  to  submit  to  Esarhaddon ;  and  in 
consideration  of  his  alliance,  Esarhaddon  assisted 


HISTORY    OF    BABYLONIA.  14! 

him  to  build  the  city  of  Sapi-Bel,  in  the  marshes, 
which  he  was  to  hold  for  Esarhaddon  as  a  frontier 
fortress  against  the  Elamites. 

Some  time  later,  Umman-aldas  being  on  the  throne 
of  Elam,  his  two  brothers,  Urtaki  and  Te-umman, 
proposed  to  him  that  he  should  break  the  peace  with 
Esarhaddon,  and  make  an  expedition  into  Chaldea 
against  the  king  of  Assyria.  This  he  refused  to  do,  and 
they  then  murdered  him,  setting  up  in  his  place 
Urtaki,  his  next  brother.  The  new  king  was  wiser  on 
his  accession  than  to  follow  his  own  former  council, 
and  made  friendly  advances  to  Esarhaddon.  Te- 
umman,  the  youngest  brother,  who  appears  to  have 
been  a  determined  foe  of  Assyria,  was  not  satisfied 
with  this  policy,  and  sent  an  agent  of  his  own,  named 
Zineni,  into  Chaldea,  to  endeavour  to  raise  a  revolt 
in  favour  of  Nabu-diim,  a  son  of  the  late  Chaldean 
ruler.  The  people  were,  however,  satisfied  with  their 
government,  and  returned  answer  that  Nahid-Maruduk 
was  their  lord,  and  that  they  were  subjects  of  the  king 
of  Assyria.  Esarhaddon  continued  to  reign  in  peace 
over  Babylon  for  thirteen  years,  his  rule  being  only 
diversified  by  these  small  intrigues  and  domestic 
events;  and  on  his  death  in  B.C.  668,  he  left  the 
government  of  Babylon  to  his  younger  son,  Saul- 


142  HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA. 

mugina,  the  elder  son,  Assur-bani-pal,  being  already 
installed  as  king  of  Assyria.1 

Peace  continued  in  Babylonia  under  the  rule  of 
Saul-mugina,  who  answers  to  the  Saosduchinos  of 
Ptolemy  and  the  Sammughes  of  Polyhistor. 

This  general  quiet  was,  however,  broken  after  about 
ten  years,  by  Urtaki,  king  of  Elam.  He  had  been  on 
good  terms  with  Esarhaddon,  and  afterwards  with  his 
sons ;  but  suddenly  changing  his  policy,  he  persuaded 
Bel-basa,  king  of  the  Gambulai,  and  some  other  local 
chiefs,  to  join  him  in  hostility  against  Assur-bani-pal 
and  Saul-mugina.  Urtaki  then,  with  these  chiefs  in 
his  train,  made  an  irruption  into  Babylonia,  and 
spreading  his  troops  over  the  country,  gave  it  up  to 
plunder.  Saul-mugina,  who  was  in  Babylon,  was 
alarmed  at  this  inroad,  and  sent  at  once  to  ask  the 
aid  of  his  brother  Assur-bani-pal,  king  of  Assyria.  At 
this  time,  'although  Saul-mugina  was  king  of  Babylon, 
he  was  tributary  and  subject  to  his  elder  brother, 


1  It  was  while  Esarhaddon  was  holding  his  court  at  Babylon 
that  Manasseh  of  Judah  was  brought  there  captive,  according  to 
2  Chronicles  xxxiii.  n.  The  character  and  rule  of  Esarhaddon 
seem  to  have  been  mild,  and  the  release  of  Manasseh  from  cap- 
tivity is  paralleled  by  other  similar  acts  of  clemency  upon  his 
part— S. 


HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA.  143 

Babylon  being  dependent  upon  Nineveh.  Assur- 
bani-pal  himself  appointed  the  provincial  governors  in 
Babylonia.  He  had  his  own  garrisons  and  com- 
manders, and  his  generals  reported  to  himself  instead 
of  to  his  brother.  Besides  this,  he  repaired  the  Baby- 
lonian temples,  and  made  offerings  at  the  various 
shrines  in  his  own  name,  thus  having  the  priesthood 
immediately  connected  with  himself.  The  active 
control  of  affairs  being  thus  in  the  hands  of  the  king 
of  Assyria,  Assur-bani-pal  responded  to  the  appeal  of 
his  brother,  and  after  sending  an  officer  to  report  to 
himself  on  the  Elamite  raid,  he  suddenly  moved  a 
force  into  Babylonia,  and,  coming  up  with  Urtaki 
before  he  could  retreat  into  Elam  with  his  spoil, 
inflicted  upon  him  a  defeat  and  drove  him  across  the 
border. 

This  war  led  to  a  succession  of  contests  with  Elam, 
which  belong  rather  to  the  history  of  Assyria  than  to 
that  of  Babylonia.  The  result  of  these  expeditions 
was,  that  Assur-bani-pal  conquered  Elam,  and  set 
upon  the  throne  of  that  country  Umman-igas,  a  son 
of  Urtaki,  who  engaged  to  pay  tribute  to  Assyria. 

The  Elamites,  who  were  a  brave,  warlike  race,  were 
restless  under  the  yoke  of  Assyria ;  and  Saul-mugina, 
king  of  Babylon,  was  also  tired  of  his  subordinate 


144  HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA. 

position.  General  disaffection  spread  over  Chal- 
dea,  Arabia,  Syria,  and  Palestine;  while  Psammeti- 
chus,  king  of  Egypt,  had  revolted,  and,  expelling  the 
Assyrians  from  that  country,  in  alliance  with  Gyges, 
king  of  Lydia,  made  war  against  Assur-bani-pal.  The 
moment  seemed  propitious  for  a  general  revolt,  and  the 
Assyrian  monarch,  foreseeing  that  trouble  was  coming, 
issued  a  proclamation  to  the  Babylonians,  dated  on 
the  23rd  day  of  the  month  lyyar,  in  the  eponymy  of 
Assur-dur-uzur  about  B.C.  650.  In  this  document 
he  reminds  them  of  the  benefits  he  had  given  them, 
and  of  the  close  brotherhood  between  Assyria  and 
Babylonia. 

Saul-mugina  at  that  time  meditated  a  revolt ;  but 
to  mask  his  proceedings  he  sent  an  embassy  to 
Nineveh,  to  assure  his  brother  of  his  fidelity,  and  to 
deceive  the  Assyrian  monarch  until  his  preparations 
were  completed.  The  first  object  of  the  Babylonian 
monarch  was  to  seek  allies,  and  his  attentio_n  was 
naturally  turned  to  Elam.  Saul-mugina,  following  the 
example  of  several  former  rulers,  broke  open  the 
treasuries  of  Bel  at  Babylon,  Nebo  at  Borsippa,  and 
Nergal  at  Cutha,  and  sent  the  gold  and  silver  as  a 
present  to  Umman-igas,  king  of  Elam,  in  payment  for 
his  assistance ;  and  the  two  monarchs  made  an  agree- 


HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA.  145 

nient  to  make  war  against  Assur-bani-pal.  In  Chaldea 
they  were  supported  by  Nabu-bel-zikri,  the  grandson 
of  Merodach-Baladan,  who  ruled  the  sea-coast,  by 
Sin-tabni-uzur,  son  of  Ningal-idina,  governor  of  Ur, 
by  Mannu-ki-babili  of  Dakkuri,  by  Hea-mubasa  of 
Amukkan,  by  Nadan  of  Pekod,  and  by  various  subor- 
dinate chiefs.  Vahta,  king  of  Arabia,  hearing  that  the 
Babylonians  and  Elamites  were  bent  on  revolt,  sent  and 
made  alliance  with  them,  hoping,  if  the  revolt  were 
successful,  to  gain  possession  of  Palestine  and  Syria 
for  himself.  Vahta  raised  two  forces,  one  of  which 
he  led  into  Palestine  and  marched  through  Edom, 
Moab,  the  Hauran,  and  Hamath,  where  his  progress 
was  stopped  by  the  Assyrian  generals,  who  defeated 
him  and  drove  him  back  to  his  own  country.  The 
other  force  he  placed  under  the  control  of  two  chiefs, 
Aimu  and  Abiyateh,  and  sent  them  to  Babylon  to 
draw  off  the  attention  of  the  Assyrians  by  assisting 
Saul-mugina  at  Babylon.  Assur-bani-pal,  who  had  re- 
ceived the  embassy  from  his  brother  with  great  honour 
and  ceremony,  and  had  feasted  them  in  Nineveh,  was 
suddenly  awakened  by  the  breaking  out  of  the  revolt ; 
Elam,  Babylonia,  and  Arabia  in  concert  throwing  oft 
the  Assyrian  yoke. 

The  king  of  Elam  marched  his  army  into  Babylonia, 
L 


146  HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA. 

and  the  Arabians  joined  the  confederates  at  Babylon. 
The  combined  forces  then  attacked  the  Assyrian  gar- 
risons, and  everywhere  expelled  the  officers  of  Assur- 
bani-pal.  Saul-mugina  chose  four  cities  for  military 
centres:  Sippara,  Babylon,  Borsippa,  and  Cutha. 
These  he  fortified,  and  prepared  to  resist  a  siege,  as 
his  brother  was  gathering  a  force  to  reconquer  the 
country. 

Before,  however,  the  Assyrians  reached  the  scene, 
divisions  appeared  among  the  insurgents.  As  soon  as 
Umman-igas,  king  of  Elam,  had  sent  his  army  to 
Babylon,  his  son  Tammaritu  made  a  conspiracy 
against  him,  and,  raising  a  force,  defeated  the  royal 
troops.  Capturing  his  father  in  the  battle,  he  cut  off 
his  head,  and  sent  it  to  Assur-bani-pal.  After  this, 
Tammaritu,  who  had  assumed  the  crown  of  Elam, 
was  induced  by  the  Babylonians  to  assist  them,  and 
he  marched  into  their  country  with  his  army. 

Assur-bani-pal  was  now  advancing,  and  his  forces, 
under  the  leadership  of  a  general  named  Bel-ibni, 
defeated  the  confederates,  and,  overrunning  the  open 
country,  shut  them  up  in  the  four  cities,  Babylon, 
Borsippa,  Cutha,  and  Sippara.  When  Tammaritu 
had  gone  to  Babylonia,  Inda-bigas,  one  of  his  ser- 
vants, set  up  as  king  in  Elam,  and,  the  people  going 


HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA.  147 

over  to  his  side,  Tammaritu  found  himself  cut  off 
from  his  own  country.  Tammaritu,  with  the  Assyrian 
army  on  one  side,  and  Inda-bigas  on  the  other,  was 
in  a  great  strait,  and  taking  flight  with  some  of  his 
friends,  he  found  his  way  to  the  sea-coast,  where  he 
took  ship  and  tried  to  escape.  The  vessel  in  which 
Tammaritu  sailed  was,  however,  soon  afterwards 
caught  in  a  storm  and  driven  back  on  the  coast,  and 
Tammaritu,  being  ill,  was  carried  on  shore,  where  he 
took  refuge  in  the  marshes ;  but  on  receiving  a  promise 
of  protection  from  Assur-bani-pal,  he  surrendered  to 
the  Assyrians. 

Meanwhile  the  Assyrian  generals  were  crushing  the 
Babylonian  revolt ;  the  strongholds  successively  fell, 
and  Babylon,  the  last  hope  of  the  rebels,  was  closely 
besieged.  Famine  and  pestilence,  the  fruits  of  war, 
were  desolating  the  country,  while  the  Assyrians  were 
completing  its  ruin. 

In  the  year  B.C.  648  Babylon  fell,  and  Saul-mugina, 
finding  that  the  city  was  captured,  set  fire  to  his  palace, 
and  perished  in  the  flames.  After  the  fall  of  Babylon, 
the  Assyrians  proceeded  to  punish  the  smaller  chiefs 
who  had  aided  in  the  revolt;  but  one  of  the  most 
active  of  these,  Nabu-bel-zikri,  a  grandson  of  Mero- 
dach-Baladan,  who  ruled  the  region  of  the  sea-coast, 
L  2 


148  HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA. 

escaped  from  the  officers  of  Assur-bani-pal,  and  fled  to 
Elam,  to  the  court  of  Inda-bigas.  Inda-bigas,  finding 
the  Babylonian  revolt  had  failed,  desired  to  make  his 
peace  with  Assur-bani-pal,  and  sent  an  embassy  to 
Assyria  to  propitiate  the  Ninevite  monarch.  Assur- 
bani-pal  met  the  envoy  with  a  demand  for  the  surrender 
of  Nabu-bel-zikri,  the  grandson  of  Merodach-Baladan, 
then  a  refugee  at  the  court  of  Inda-bigas,  and  threat- 
ened to  invade  Elam,  and  waste  it  with  fire  and 
sword  if  this  demand  was  not  complied  with.  Before 
the  return  of  the  messenger  with  this  message,  Inda- 
bigas  was  dead.  Umman-aldas,  an  Elamite  com- 
mander, had  revolted  against  him,  and  killed  him  and 
his  family,  in  his  turn  ascending  the  Elamite  throne. 

Assur-bani-pal  now  sent  an  embassy  to  the  new 
monarch,  to  demand  the  surrender  of  the  Chaldean 
prince,  and  Umman-aldas  received  the  envoys  of  the 
Assyrian  monarch. 

Nabu-bel-zikri,  now  fearing  that  he  should  be  de- 
livered up  by  the  king  of  Elam  to  Assur-bani-pal,  called 
on  his  armour-bearer  to  despatch  him,  and  the  two 
ran  each  other  through  with  their  swords.  Umman- 
aldas  took  the  body  of  Nabu-bel-zikri  and  the  head  of 
his  armour-bearer  and  delivered  them  to  the  messen- 
gers of  Assur-bani-pal,  who  carried  them  to  Assyria. 


HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA.  149 

The  death  of  Nabu-bel-zikri  extinguished  the  family 
of  Merodach-Baladan,  and  put  an  end  to  the  trouble 
and  danger  to  Assyria  arising  from  their  constant 
efforts  to  shake  off  the  Ninevite  yoke. 

Babylonia  now  enjoyed  a  quiet  of  some  years  under 
the  reign  of  Assur-bani-pal ;  but  the  condition  of  the 
country  at  this  time  is  uncertain.  It  is  supposed  that 
trouble  arose  on  the  death  of  Assur-bani-pal,  B.C.  626, 
and  that  a  claimant  named  Bel-zakir-iskun  set  him- 
self up  as  king.  It  is  certain  that  at  this  time  there 
was  a  revolt  of  some  sort,  and  the  Assyrian  monarch 
sent  a  general  named  Nabu-pal-uzur  (Nabopolassar) 
to  subdue  it.  Nabopolassar,  after  reconquering  the 
country,  was  rewarded  by  the  Assyrian  monarch  with 
the  crown  of  Babylonia.  Nabopolassar  was  a  man  of 
genius  and  ambition,  and  while  Assyria,  nominally 
the  governing  state,  was  fast  decaying,  raised  Baby- 
lonia to  a  high  pitch  of  power  and  prosperity.  The  fall 
of  Assyria  was  now  imminent.  The  upper  provinces 
had  all  been  ravaged  by  the  Scythians,  and  a  new  and 
powerful  state  had  arisen  on  the  east  of  the  empire 
in  Media,  now  ruled  by  Cyaxares  ;  while  Babylonia 
was  being  reorganized  under  Nabopolassar  and  the 
Egyptians  were  laying  siege  to  Ashdod  in  the  west 
Cyaxares  having  determined  on  the  conquest  of 


1^0  HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA. 

Assyria,  Nabopolassar  sent  and  offered  to  make  an 
alliance  with  him  for  this  purpose,  the  treaty  to  be 
cemented  by  the  marriage  of  Amuhia  or  Amytis,  the 
daughter  of  Cyaxares,1  with  Nabu-kudur-uzur  or  Nebu- 
chadnezzar, son  of  Nabopolassar.  This  treaty  pro- 
bably included  also  the  king  of  Egypt,  for  he  assisted 
in  the  war  against  Assyria,  marching  up  through 
Palestine  to  Carchemish  on  the  Euphrates,  which  he 
captured. 

The  account  of  the  siege  and  fall  of  Nineveh,  and 

1  It  is  very  probable  that  some  mutilated  tablets  discovered 
by  Mr.  Smith  refer  to  Cyaxares  and  the  closing  days  of  the 
Assyrian  monarchy.  The  writing  upon  them  is  extremely  bad* 
and  they  seem  to  be  rough  copies  hastily  executed,  and  never 
carefully  copied  out  again.  The  name  of  the  Assyrian  king  for 
whom  they  were  written  is  Esar-haddon,  which  may  be  com- 
pared with  the  name  Saracus,  assigned  to  the  last  monarch  of 
Nineveh  by  classical  writers.  We  learn  from  them  that  Kaztariti 
king  of  the  Kar-kassi  ("  the  fortress  of  the  Kassi,"  perhaps),  had 
allied  himself  with  Mamitarsu,  the  chief  of  the  Medes,  the 
Kimmerians,  the  Minnians  of  Lake  Van,  and  the  people  of 
Saparda  (the  Sepharad  of  Obad.  20),  on  the  Black  Sea,  and 
invaded  Assyria.  Many  of  the  Assyrian  cities  were  taken,  and 
the  King  of  Nineveh  ordered  a  fast  of  one  hundred  days  and 
nights  to  the  gods,  in  order  to  avert  the  danger  with  which  the 
empire  was  threatened.  It  was  at  this  crisis,  when  the  enemy 
was  hourly  expected  to  attack  Nineveh  itself,  that  the  tablets 
were  composed. — S. 


HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA.  151 

the  extinction  of  the  Assyrian  empire,  will  be  found 
in  the  "History  of  Assyria,"  pp.  189-191.  No  trust- 
worthy history  of  this  period  from  any  ancient  source 
is  known,  and  one  difficulty  in  the  case  is,  to  know 
how  to  choose  between  what  is  probable  and  what  is 
unlikely  in  the  various  notices  which  have  come  down 
to  us. 


152  HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE   EMPIRE   OF    NEBUCHADNEZZAR. 

Rise  of  the  Babylonian  Empire — Egypt  and  Media — Nebuchad- 
nezzar, his  conquests  and  buildings — Destruction  of  Jerusalem 
— Invasion  of  Egypt — Siege  of  Tyre — The  kingdom  of  Lydia 
— Babylon  adorned — Character  of  Nebuchadnezzar — Evil- 
Merodach,  his  murder — Nergalsharezer. 

AFTER  the  fall  of  Assyria,  a  natural  division  of  the 
territories  of  the  departed  empire  was  made.  The 
Median  provinces  and  the  north  of  Assyria  as  far  as 
Cilicia,  fell  to  Cyaxares  of  Media;  the  south  of 
Assyria  and  part  of  Arabia  fell  to  Babylon,  the 
western  boundary  of  Nabopolassar  being  the  Upper 
Euphrates.  All  west  of  Carchemish  and  south  of 
Cilicia  was  joined  to  Egypt. 

It  was  evident  that  the  division  was  only  pro- 
visional, and  could  only  last  until  the  three  powers 
could  determine  in  conflict  their  relative  strength ; 
and  accordingly,  after  about  three  years,  the  whole 


HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA.  I -7 

*/  \f 

arrangement  was  overturned  by  the  action  of  Nabo- 
polassar,  king  of  Babylon. 

The  overthrow  of  the  Assyrian  empire  marks  a 
great  epoch  in  the  history  of  the  world ;  it  is  the  in- 
dication of  a  coming  change,  which  swept  away  the 
old  despotism  and  base  idolatry  of  Western  Asia,  and 
brought  in  the  era  of  a  purer  and  nobler  faith.  The 
king  of  Babylon  and  Pharaoh  of  Egypt  assisted  in 
the  work  of  dismembering  the  expiring  empire ;  but 
events  they  little  foresaw  were  ripening,  and  they 
were  really  exchanging  for  their  countries  the  fami- 
liar yoke  of  Assyria  for  another  and  sterner  rule, 
under  which  their  political  existence  would  be 
crushed. 

The  great  event  of  this  age  is  the  rise  of  the  Medo- 
Persian  power,  which  showed  a  remarkable  superiority 
to  the  empires  which  preceded  it,  by  a  superior  system 
of  government,  and  better  military  discipline.  Its 
dominion,  within  a  century,  extended  to  the  east  and 
west  far  beyond  the  greatest  limits  ever  reached  by 
former  powers.  The  complete  triumph  of  the  Aryans 
was,  however,  delayed  by  the  rise  of  the  reviving 
Babylonian  empire.  The  brilliant  genius  of  Nabo- 
polassar  and  his  son  Nebuchadnezzar  made  Babylon 
for  the  time  the  centre  of  the  political  world.  This 


154  HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA. 

impetus,  due  to  individual  ability,  quickly  failed,  and 
only  left  Babylonia  a  richer  and  more  tempting  prize 
for  the  rising  power  of  Persia.  The  fall  of  Nineveh 
and  sudden  extinction  of  the  Assyrian  power  was  fol- 
lowed by  a  pause  in  the  events  then  so  rapidly  hurry- 
ing along.  Although  the  hammer  of  the  earth  was 
broken,  it  seemed  for  the  moment  as  if  there  was  no 
state  able  to  take  the  mantle  of  the  departed  empire. 
The  smaller  states  were  now  independent,  while  on 
the  ruins  of  the  Assyrian  monarchy  stood  three 
powers,  apparently  equally  balanced  and  equally  re- 
luctant to  disturb  their  neighbours. 

Egypt  on  the  west  was  now  a  great  state.  Its  king 
held  court  in  Northern  Syria,  and  its  soldiers  en- 
camped by  the  banks  of  the  river  Euphrates.  All 
the  country  west  of  this  great  natural  boundary 
acknowledged  the  sway  of  Pharaoh  Necho,  the  extent 
of  whose  empire  rivalled  the  dominions  of  Egypt  in 
her  most  palmy  days,  under  the  great  Thothmes  and 
Rameses  of  the  eighteenth  and  nineteenth  dynasties. 

On  the  south,  Babylonia  had  attained  a  power 
which  she  had  not  possessed  for  several  centuries : 
the  south  of  Assyria  and  the  region  of  the  Khabur 
were  added  to  her  empire,  and  whatever  culture  and 
advancement  Assyria  had  possessed  had  at  once  gra- 


HISTORY  OF   BABYLONIA.  155 

vitated  towards  Babylon.  On  the  north  and  east 
Media  had  risen  within  a  few  years  from  a  condition 
of  division  and  lawlessness  to  a  compact  and  powerful 
monarchy;  and  the  empire  of  Cyaxares,  king  of  Media, 
extended  from  the  river  Halys,  in  Asia  Minor,  to  the 
east  of  Persia. 

There  was  a  mutual  agreement  between  the  three 
powers,  and  the  marriage  of  the  son  of  the  king  of 
Babylon  with  the  daughter  of  the  king  of  Media  assured 
the  peace  between  these  states ;  besides  which,  all 
had  so  recently  acquired  their  possessions  that  much 
organization  was  necessary  before  any  further  exten- 
sion of  them  could  be  made. 

It  seems  that  the  first  power  to  recover  was  Baby- 
lon. Nabopolassar  was  active  from  the  first,  and 
organized  his  new  possessions  so  as  to  be  quickly 
ready  for  war ;  and  then,  as  generally  happens,  a  pre- 
text for  hostilities  was  soon  found  by  one  who  was 
looking  out  for  it. 

Some  discussion  arose  with  Necho,  king  of  Egypt, 
probably  about  the  rights  or  boundaries  of  the  Egyp- 
tians and  Babylonians,  and  in  B.C.  605  war  was  de- 
clared between  the  two  powers.  Nabopolassar  was  now 
too  old  and  infirm  for  active  operations  in  the  field ; 
and  being  anxious  to  prosecute  the  war  with  vigour, 


156  HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA. 

placed  his  troops  under  command  of  his  eldest  son, 
Nebuchadnezzar,  a  young  man  of  great  promise.  The 
Egyptian  army  meanwhile  lay  idly  at  Carchemish,  on 
the  Upper  Euphrates,  Necho  not  having  the  judg- 
ment to  prepare  against  his  young  antagonist. 

Nebuchadnezzar  advanced  to  Carchemish,  and 
attacked  and  routed  the  Egyptian  army  there,  gaining 
by  this  movement  the  control  of  all  Syria.  The  Egyp- 
tians appear  to  have  had  no  reserves,  and  the  Baby- 
lonians marched  through  Syria  and  Palestine  unop- 
posed, receiving  the  submission  in  turn  of  all  the 
petty  princes  as  far  as  the  borders  of  Egypt. 

Among  these  tributaries  was  Jehoiakim  king  of 
Judah,  who  had  been  set  on  the  throne  by  Necho, 
but  who  was  now  forced  to  submit  to  the  Babylonian 
yoke. 

While  Nebuchadnezzar  was  absent  in  Syria  his 
father,  Nabopolassar,  died,  and  Nebuchadnezzar 
hastened  back  to  Babylon  to  assume  the  govern- 
ment. The  Babylonian  army  now  returned  laden 
with  the  spoils  of  the  west  and  the  tribute  of  Syria, 
and  Babylon  assumed  the  position  of  metropolis  of 
the  world. 

Soon  after  Nebuchadnezzar  had  returned  to  Babylon, 
about  B.C.  602,  Palestine  revolted,  the  rising  being 


HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA.  157 

most  probably  prompted  by  the  Egyptians.  Nebuchad- 
nezzar was  at  the  time  engaged  in  other  works,  and 
unable  to  attend  to  these  affairs  until  B.C.  598, 
when  he  once  more  swept  down  upon  Palestine,  at- 
tacking Tyre  on  the  way,  and  marched  into  Judah.  At 
this  time  Jehoiakim,  king  of  Judah,  died,  and  was 
succeeded  by  his  son  Jehoiachin,  who  was  scarcely 
seated  on  his  father's  throne  when  Nebuchadnezzar 
deposed  him,  and  raised  his  uncle,  Zedekiah,  to  the 
kingdom.  Nebuchadnezzar  desired  a  ruler  in  Judah 
who  should  owe  his  throne  to  Babylon,  and  be  free 
from  Egyptian  influence,  and  he  caused  Zedekiah  to 
swear  by  Jehovah  to  be  faithful  to  himself.  Jehoia- 
chin, the  late  king,  who  was  a  mere  youth,  together  with 
numerous  other  captives,  he  carried  with  him  to  Baby- 
lon. The  new  Jewish  ruler,  Zedekiah,  did  no  better 
than  his  late  brother,  and  encouraged  by  the  Egyp- 
tians, the  kings  of  Tyre  and  Zidon,  Edom,  Moab  and 
Ammon  sent  embassies  to  Jerusalem  about  B.C.  593, 
to  concert  plans  for  making  a  Palestinian  confederacy 
under  the  leadership  of  Egypt  to  revolt  against 
Babylon.  They  appear  to  have  taken  advantage  of  a 
good  opportunity,  Nebuchadnezzar  being  engaged  on 
his  eastern  frontier.  The  Elamites,  once  a  powerful 
nation,  had  been  crushed  by  the  Assyrians  in  the 


158  HISTORY  OF   BABYLONIA. 

reign  of  Assur-bani-pal,  but  after  the  defeat  of  the 
Assyrians  by  the  Medes  and  Babylonians  they  had 
revived,  and  regained  considerable  strength.  Of  the 
circumstances  which  brought  them  into  contact  with 
the  Babylonians  we  are  ignorant,  and  we  know  nothing 
of  the  history  of  the  war;  the  final  result  of  the 
struggle  was,  however,  to  extinguish  once  more  the 
independence  of  Elam,  the  country  being  now  annexed 
to  Babylonia. 

Soon  after  this,  Nebuchadnezzar,  B.C.  589,  moved 
into  Syria,  and  taking  up  his  head-quarters  at  Riblah,  in 
the  land  of  Hamath,  directed  his  troops  against 
Palestine.  Nebuzaradan,1  his  general,  laid  siege  to 
Jerusalem,  the  centre  of  the  revolt,  where  the  Jews 
within  the  city  were  divided  into  two  parties,  one  for 
submission  to  the  Chaldeans,  the  other  for  resistance. 
At  this  time  Apries  or  Hophra  was  king  of  Egypt ;  he 
had  entered  with  spirit  into  the  Palestinian  league, 
and  with  his  fleet  had  occupied  some  parts  of  the 
Phoenician  coast ;  on  the  advance  of  Nebuchadnezzar 
he  assembled  his  army,  and  marched  against  Jerusalem 
to  endeavour  to  raise  the  siege  of  the  city.  In  this 
effort  he  was  unsuccessful,  though  at  first  the  Chaldean 

1  In  Assyrian  Nabu-zira-iddina  "Nebo  gave  a  seed."— S. 


HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA.  159 

general  alarmed  by  the  advance  of  the  Egyptians, 
retired  from  the  siege.  Whether  the  latter  engaged 
the  army  of  Pharoah  we  do  not  know,  but  certainly 
he  forced  the  Egyptians  to  abandon  their  enterprise, 
and  leave  Jerusalem  to  its  fate.  On  his  return  accord- 
ingly Nebuzaradan  pressed  the  siege  with  vigour,  and 
in  B.C.  587,  Jerusalem  fell.  The  Chaldean  army 
marched  in  and  destroyed  the  city,  burning  the 
Temple,  and  carrying  away  its  sacred  vessels  and  trea- 
sures. Zedekiah  attempted  to  save  himself  by  flight, 
but  was  captured,  and  carried  before  Nebuchadnezzar, 
who  put  his  sons  to  death  before  his  face,  and  then 
put  out  his  eyes. 

Besides  Jerusalem  several  other  cities  of  Judah  were 
plundered  and  destroyed,  and  the  people  carried  into 
captivity. 

The  surrounding  nations  of  Palestine  which  had 
joined  in  the  revolt  were  punished  in  their  turn,  and 
in  B.C.  586  the  Babylonian  monarch  laid  siege  to 
Tyre.  Tyre  at  this  time  was  the  central  city  of 
Mediterranean  commerce,  and  having  possession  of  a 
powerful  fleet,  and  a  position  on  the  sea  coast,  it  was 
in  an  excellent  condition  for  resisting  a  blockade  by 
land.  For  thirteen  years  the  army  of  Nebuchadnezzar 
sat  round  its  walls,  and  even  when  the  city  was  taken 


l6o  HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA. 

(B.C.  573)  the  conqueror  gained  very  little  to  reward 
his  toil.1 

Meanwhile  events  were  happening  elsewhere  to  call 
off  the  attention  of  the  Babylonian  monarch. 

Nebuchadnezzar  had  wedded  the  daughter  of  the 
king  of  Media,  and  this  alliance  insured  the  peace 
between  these  two  nations.  The  warlike  Median 
monarch  did  not  interfere  with  the  conquests  of  his 
great  son-in-law,  but  he,  at  the  same  time,  sought  an 
empire  outside  the  circle  of  the  Babylonian  conquests. 
On  the  east  of  Media,  in  Armenia,  and  the  eastern 
part  of  Asia  Minor,  the  Median  empire  was  extended, 
and  its  western  border  now  touched  the  dominions 
of  the  rising  Lydian  kingdom.  Since  the  time  of 
Gyges  Lydia  had  enjoyed  great  prosperity,  and  its 
territory  now  embraced  a  considerable  portion  of  Asia 
Minor.  A  dispute  arose  between  Lydia  and  Media 
on  account  of  some  fugitives,  who  fled  from  the  court 
of  Cyaxares,  king  of  Media,  and  took  refuge  with 
Alyattes,  king  of  Lydia.  In  B.C.  590  war  broke  out 
between  the  two  powers  in  consequence  of  the  Lydians 
refusing  to  deliver  up  the  fugitives. 

This  war  is  said  to  have  lasted  five  years,  with  no 

1  It  is  by  no  means  clear  that  Nebuchadnezzar  did  take  Tyre. 
So  judicious  a  historian  as  Mr.  Grote  thinks  not. — S. 


HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA.  l6l 

permanent  advantage  on  either  side,  when,  in  B.C. 
585,  while  the  Lydians  and  Medes  were  engaged  in 
battle  there  happened  an  eclipse  of  the  sun,  and  both 
armies  taking  this  as  an  omen,  the  opportunity  was 
seized  by  the  king  of  Cilicia  and  Nebuchadnezzar  to 
press  a  peace  upon  the  combatants.1 

Meanwhile  affairs  in  Palestine  were  still  unsettled. 
The  Jews  had  revolted,  and  murdered  Gedaliah,  the 
governor  set  over  them  by  Nebuchadnezzar,  and  then 
many  of  the  people  had  sought  an  asylum  in  Egypt, 
hoping  there  to  be  beyond  the  vengeance  of  the 
Chaldeans.  The  tribes  around  Palestine  were  also 
disaffected,  and  Tyre  still  held  out,  the  length  of  the 
siege  giving  some  hopes  to  the  enemies  of  Babylonia 
in  this  direction.  A  new  Chaldean  force  was  sent  into 
Palestine  B.C.  582,  Judah  being  again  ravaged,  and 
the  last  of  its  captives  sent  to  Babylon.  It  was  pro- 
bably about  this  time  that  Nebuchadnezzar  punished 
the  tribes  on  the  borders  of  the  desert  east  of  Pales- 
tine, and  sent  an  army  which  penetrated  far  into 
Arabia,  and  nominally  added  a  considerable  part  of 
that  difficult  country  to  the  Babylonian  empire. 

It  is  probable  that  the  command  of  the  Mediter- 

1  According  to  Mr.  Hind,  this  eclipse  would  have  taken  place 
May  28th,  B.C.  584. 

M 


1 62  HISTORY    OF    BABYLONIA. 

ranean,  then  in  the  hands  of  the  Tyrian  fleet, 
enabled  them  to  remove  the  bulk  of  their  wealth 
before  the  fall  of  the  city.  Within  the  reach  of  the 
Babylonian  sovereign  there  still  remained  Egypt, 
which  had  fomented  and  encouraged  every  successive 
rebellion  in  Palestine.  In  B.C.  572  Nebuchadnezzar 
marched  in  person  into  that  country,  and  defeating 
the  army  of  Hophra,  overran  Egypt,  and  plundered  it 
of  all  its  wealth.  Hophra  fell  into  his  hands,  and  was 
deposed,  a  general  named  Ahmes  or  Amasis  being 
acknowledged  as  king  of  Egypt  in  his  stead,  the  new 
monarch  being  installed  as  a  vassal  of  Babylonia. 

The  conquest  of  Egypt  probably  closed  the  era  of 
the  foreign  wars  of  Nebuchadnezzar  :  these  contests 
had  lasted  at  least  thirty-three  years,  and  had  extended 
from  the  confines  of  Persia  in  the  east  to  Libya  in 
the  west,  and  from  Cilicia  in  the  north  to  Arabia  in 
the  south.  The  boundaries  of  the  Babylonian  king- 
dom at  this  time  comprised,  so  far  as  we  know,  Elam 
or  Khuzistan  on  the  east,  and  parts  north  of  this, 
including  Zimri  and  the  region  as  far  as  the  Zagros 
mountains,  taking  in  all  the  best  part  of  Assyria,  and 
probably  all  the  region  south  of  the  Mardin  mountains, 
across  to  Cilicia,  where  the  boundary  touched  the 
Mediterranean.  All  Syria,  as  far  as  the  Mediterranean, 


HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA.  163 

was  included,  and  Egypt,  with  part  of  Libya,  on  the 
west.  It  is  uncertain  if  Cyprus  owned  the  sway  of 
Nebuchadnezzar,  and  nothing  is  known  of  most  of  the 
states  of  Asia  Minor.  On  the  south  the  empire  was 
bordered  by  the  Libyan  desert,  the  cataracts  of  the 
Nile,  and  an  uncertain  line  running  through  Arabia. 
The  Persian  Gulf  was  under  Babylonian  control,  both 
shores  being  subject  to  Nebuchadnezzar,  and  a  con- 
siderable commerce  was  carried  on  from  it  to  India. 

The  rapidity  with  which  this  empire  had  been  ac- 
quired shows  the  genius  of  Nabopolassar  and  his  son 
Nebuchadnezzar.  Only  forty  years  before,  Babylonia 
had  been  subject  to  Assyria,  and  within  that  space 
the  Babylonians  had,  in  conjunction  with  the  Medes, 
crushed  the  power  of  Assyria,  conquered  its  depen- 
dencies, broken  the  power  of  the  monarchy  raised  by 
Psammetichus  in  Egypt,  overrun  Arabia,  and  annexed 
Elam. 

The  fame  of  Nebuchadnezzar  rests,  however,  more 
on  his  buildings  than  his  conquests.  Short  outlines 
and  notes  in  the  Bible,  and  various  ancient  authors, 
are  all  that  remain  of  the  political  events  of  his  reign, 
and  it  is  at  present  impossible  to  fill  in  the  details  of 
his  various  campaigns ;  but  he  himself  has  left  us  in 
his  inscriptions  minute  and  remarkable  accounts  of 
M  2 


164  HISTORY    OF    BABYLONIA. 

his  various  architectural  works.  These  show  precisely 
the  spirit  mentioned  in  the  book  of  Daniel.  All  his 
labour  and  all  his  glory,  were  to  make  Babylon  the 
grandest  city  of  the  world  ;  nothing  was  spared  that 
absolute  power  could  dictate  and  that  wealth  or  genius 
could  supply,  and  under  Nebuchadnezzar  Babylon 
became  the  glory  and  wonder  of  the  world. 

The  great  temple  of  Babylon,  called  Saggal,  which 
was  dedicated  to  Merodach  or  Bel,1  he  rebuilt  and 
richly  adorned  with  gold,  silver,  and  precious  stones ; 
and  here  he  once  more  reared  the  head  of  the  ziggur- 
rat  or  tower  called  Temin-sami-irtsiti,  "the  foundation 
of  heaven  (and)  earth."  The  sanctuary  of  Bel  he  roofed 
with  cedar  brought  from  the  mountains  of  Lebanon, 
and  overlaid  with  gold ;  the  temples  of  Birbir  and 
Ziru,  dedicated  to  Bel  and  Rubat,  the  temple  of  the 
Moon  god,  the  temple  of  the  Sun,  the  temple  of  Vul,the 
atmospheric  god,  the  temple  of  the  goddess  Gula,  the 
temple  of  Venus,  and  other  buildings,  he  reconstructed 


1  Bel-Merodach  was  termed  the  younger  Bel,  to  distinguish 
him  from  the  elder  Bel,  one  of  the  members  of  the  trinity,  Anu, 
Bel,  and  Hea.  The  older  Bel  was  called  Mul  or  Mul-ge,  "the 
lord  of  the  abyss  "  in  Accadian,  and  presided  over  the  earth  and 
underground  world.  Bel,  Assyrian  Bilu,  is  the  Hebrew  Baal, 
"lord."— S. 


HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA.  165 

and  beautified.  He  raised  the  celebrated  hanging 
gardens,  which  consisted  of  arched  terraces  covered 
with  earth,  in  which  grew  all  manner  of  trees  and 
flowers.  He  rebuilt  the  great  walls  of  Babylon  called 
Imgur-Bel  and  Nimit-Bel,  and  he  completed  the  mag- 
nificent palace  partly  built  by  his  father. 

In  Borsippa,  which  lay  to  the  west  of  Babylon,  on 
the  other  side  of  the  Euphrates,  he  rebuilt  the  temple 
of  Nebo  and  some  smaller  shrines.  Here  was  a  cele- 
brated temple,  probably  standing  on  the  site  of  the 
traditional  tower  of  Babel.  This  temple  was  raised  in 
the  form  of  a  truncated  pyramid  or  ziggurrat,  but  only 
42  cubits  (70  feet)  had  been  built,  and  the  structure 
being  left  unfinished  had  fallen  into  ruin.  Nebuchad- 
nezzar rebuilt  it  in  the  form  of  a  temple  of  seven  stages, 
each  stage  being  dedicated  to  one  of  the  planetary 
bodies. 

At  all  the  various  cities  of  Babylonia  he  rebuilt  the 
principal  temples,  but  nowhere  did  he  lavish  such 
magnificence  as  at  Babylon.  Looking  down  on  this 
proud  city,  which  he  had  made  the  mistress  of  the 
world,  we  can  well  conceive  the  monarch  saying,  "  Is 
not  this  great  Babylon  that  I  have  built  for  the  house 
of  the  kingdom,  by  the  might  of  my  power,  and  for 
the  honour  of  my  majesty  ?  " 


1 66  HISTORY    OF    BABYLONIA. 

In  the  court,  and  among  the  upper  classes,  there 
was  at  this  time  a  luxury  equal  to  the  magnificence  of 
the  buildings.  Lebanon  furnished  its  cedars,  Tyre  its 
goods  and  manufactures,  Helbon,  the  Shuite  district, 
the  north  of  Assyria  and  Syria,  furnished  various  wines, 
which  flowed  on  the  royal  and  priestly  tables  like 
rivers ;  cattle,  animals  of  all  sorts,  strange  birds,  and 
fish,  some  presents  from  distant  lands,  others  the 
plunder  of  conquered  and  oppressed  nations,  filled 
the  fields  and  waters  of  Babylon ;  and  the  noblest 
youths  of  conquered  peoples  served  in  the  presence  of 
the  king  and  courtiers. 

The  last  ten  years  of  the  reign  of  Nebuchadnezzar 
appear  to  have  been  spent  in  peace,  surrounded  by 
all  this  pomp  and  luxury.  During  this  period,  ac- 
cording to  the  book  of  Daniel,  the  king  suffered  for  a 
time  under  a  form  of  madness,  conceiving  himself  to 
be  a  beast  of  the  field.  No  inscription  or  notice  in 
confirmation  of  this  has  yet  been  discovered ;  but  it 
must  be  remembered  that  our  knowledge  of  the  whole 
of  the  reign  is  very  scanty. 

So  far  as  we  can  trace  the  character  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar, he  appears  to  have  been  a  sovereign  of  great 
ability,  a  good  general,  bold  in  design,  and  resolute  in 
action.  The  long  wars  he  waged  over  most  of  the 


HISTORY    OF    BABYLONIA.  167 

then  known  world,  his  defeat  of  the  Egyptians  at 
Carchemish  at  the  outset  of  his  career,  and  his  long 
and  determined  blockade  of  Tyre,  show  his  military 
character ;  but,  like  most  Oriental  sovereigns,  his  acts 
were  stained  with  cruelty.  As  a  builder,  Nebuchad- 
nezzar stands  in  the  first  rank,  and  he  was  a  great 
patron  of  arts  and  sciences.  His  system  of  govern- 
ment was  the  usual  Eastern  one  of  draining  and 
oppressing  conquered  countries  and  subject  provinces 
to  increase  the  glory  and  magnificence  of  his  capital. 
In  religion  Nebuchadnezzar  was,  like  most  rulers, 
faithful  to  the  orthodoxy  of  his  day.  Merodach  or  Bel 
and  Nebo  were  his  great  divinities,  and  after  them 
came  a  train  of  lesser  gods,  who  each  shared  the 
devotion  and  gifts  of  the  sovereign.  His  gods  are 
said  to  inspire  his  heart ;  he  acknowledges  that  his  life 
and  success  were  from  them,  and  he  raises  at  their 
holy  seats  prayer  and  thanksgiving  to  them. 

Such  was  Nebuchadnezzar,  the  greatest  of  the  Baby- 
lonian sovereigns.  He  reigned  over  Western  Asia 
from  his  campaign  against  Carchemish,  in  B.C.  605, 
until  his  death,  B.C.  562.  On  the  death  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar his  crown  descended  to  his  son  Amil-Mar- 
uduk,  the  Evil-Merodach  of  the  Bible,  called  by  the 
Greeks  Ilouarodam. 


1 68  HISTORY  OF   BABYLONIA. 

Evil-Merodach  appears,  so  far  as  we  can  judge,  to 
have  been  a  pacific  sovereign ;  but  the  ancient  authors 
who  mention  him  condemn  his  government.  Nebu- 
chadnezzar had  taken  captive  Jehoiachin,  king  of 
Judah,  and  kept  him  in  prison  at  Babylon.  Evil-Mero- 
dach, however,  released  the  captive  when  he  came  to 
the  throne,  and  seated  him  in  honour  at  Babylon. 
It  is  probable  that  in  other  respects  Evil-Merodach 
reversed  the  policy  of  his  father,  and  this  led  to 
discontent  among  the  proud  overbearing  nobles  of 
Babylon.  In  consequence  of  this  a  conspiracy  was 
formed  against  him,  led  by  his  own  brother-in-law 
Nergal-sar-uzur,  the  Nergalsharezer  of  the  Bible, 
called  Neri-glissor  by  the  Greek  writers,  and  Evil- 
Merodach  was  assassinated  after  a  reign  of  two  years, 
B.C.  560. 

On  the  murder  of  Evil-Merodach  the  conspirators 
raised  to  the  throne  Nergalsharezer,  their  leader.  He 
was  the  son  of  Bel-zakir-iskun,  who  had  ruled  at 
Babylon  during  the  troublous  period  towards  the  close 
of  the  Assyrian  monarchy.  It  is  unknown  whether 
he  was  the  same  as  the  Bel-zakir-iskun  who  ruled  in 
Assyria  about  the  same  time.  Nergalsharezer  had 
been  appointed  rubu  emga  (the  Rabmag  of  the  Bible), 
which  appears  to  have  been  one  of  the  highest  titles 


HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA. 


169 


in  the  state,  and  he  received  in  marriage  a  daughter 
of  Nebuchadnezzar ;  thus  becoming  closely  connected 
with  the  throne. 

He  accompanied  the  Babylonian  army  to  Jerusalem, 
and  is  mentioned  as  sitting  in  the  gate  after  the  taking 
of  the  city.  At  the  time  of  his  accession  to  the 
throne  he  was  advanced  in  years,  and  he  only  reigned 
a  little  more  than  three  years,  dying  in  B.C.  556. 
Nergalsharezer  is  only  known  to  have  repaired  the 
river  front  of  the  Babylonian  palace,  and  to  have 
built  a  new  palace  for  himself  there.  Like  his  pre- 
decessor, he  engaged  in  no  warlike  expeditions,  and 
the  military  strength  of  the  Babylonian  empire  slowly 
declined. 


1 70  HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE    DECLINE    AND    FALL   OF    THE    BABYLONIAN 
EMPIRE.     • 

Laborosoarchod — Nabonidus — Babylon  fortified — Astyages  and 
Cyrus — Cyrus  besieges  Babylon — Babylon  taken  by  the  Per- 
sians— The  Darius  of  Daniel — Return  of  the  Jews  from  exile 
— Cambyses  and  Smerdis — Darius  Hystaspes — Revolt  and 
capture  of  Babylon — Second  revolt  of  Babylon  under  Arahu 
— Babylon  taken — Decline  of  Babylon. 

THE  son  and  successor  of  Nergalsharezer  was  called 
by  the  Greeks  Laborosoarchod,  perhaps  a  corruption 
of  the  Babylonian  name  Ulbar-surki-idina.  This 
prince  had  only  reigned  nine  months  when  a  new 
conspiracy  was  formed,  and  he  was  assassinated;  a 
man  named  Nabu-imtuk,  or  Nabu-nahid,  called  by 
the  Greeks  Labynetus  or  Nabonidus,  son  of  the 
rubu  emga  or  rabmag  Nabu-balatsu-iqbi,  being  raised 
to  the  throne  B.C.  556.  Nabonidus  either  was  a  de- 
scendant of  Nebuchadnezzar  on  the  female  side,  or 
married  into  the  family  to  strengthen  his  right  to  the 


HISTORY    OF    BABYLONIA.  17 1 

throne.  In  connection  with  him  we  find  mentioned 
in  Herodotus  a  queen  named  Nitocris,  to  whom  some 
of  the  great  works  at  Babylon  are  ascribed. 

During  the  reign  of  Nabonidus  the  inactivity  abroad 
continued,  while  political  events  outside  Babylonia 
were  ripening  for  the  destruction  of  that  state. 

Nabonidus  rebuilt  and  restored  the  various  temples, 
and  did  all  he  could  to  propitiate  the  priesthood. 
Seeing  that  Babylonia,  which  had  been  so  long  inac- 
tive, would  soon  have  to  prepare  to  resist  the  Medes 
and  Persians,  Nabonidus  repaired  and  increased  the 
defences  of  the  capital.  Towards  the  close  of  his 
reign,  Nabonidus  associated  with  himself  on  the  throne 
his  eldest  son  Bel-sar-uzur,  the  Belshazzar  of  the  book 
of  Daniel.1  About  the  year  B.C.  540  an  attack  was 
made  upon  Babylon  by  the  Medes  and  Persians,  the 
immediate  pretext  of  which  is  not  known. 

Since  the  peace  between  Lydia  and  Media  in  B.C. 
585,  a  general  cessation  of  hostilities  had  continued 

1  This  is  doubtful.  Belshazzar  (Bilu-sarra-utsur)  is  called  the 
eldest  son  of  Nabonidus  in  one  of  the  latter's  inscriptions ;  but 
a  dated  tablet  from  Babylon  mentions  the  third  year  of  Mero- 
dach-sarra-utsur,  and  not  Bel-sarra-utsur.  However,  Merodach 
was  also  addressed  as  Bel,  and,  according  to  the  book  of  Daniel, 
Eelshazzar  was  in  command  in  Babylon  at  the  time  of  the  cap- 
ture of  that  city  by  Cyrus. — S. 


172  HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA. 

for  some  years  in  those  countries.  Cyaxares,  king  of 
Media,  had  died,  and  his  son  Astyages,  who  succeeded 
him,  being  a  pacific  prince,  had  not  sought  to  emulate 
the  great  military  expeditions  of  his  father. 

Astyages  had  a  daughter,  whom  he  married  to  Cam- 
byses,  king  of  Persia,  that  country  being  at  the  time 
one  of  the  tributaries  of  Media.  Of  this  marriage 
was  born  Cyrus,  the  future  master  of  the  world.1  Cyrus 
on  coming  to  man's  estate  conceived  tbe  project  of 
freeing  Persia  from  the  dominion  of  Media,  and  having 
persuaded  the  Persians  to  follow  him  in  the  enterprise, 
he  threw  off  the  Median  yoke.  The  date  of  this  event 
is  supposed  to  have  been  about  B.C.  559.  A  long  and 
obstinate  war  followed,  which  ended  in  the  ultimate 
triumph  of  Persia.  During  this  struggle  Lydia  on  the 
west,  and  Babylon  on  the  south-west,  although  directly 
interested,  maintained  a  policy  of  non-intervention, 
and  allowed  the  Median  power  to  fall  into  the  hands 
of  Cyrus,  a  man  destined  to  conquer  them  both. 

1  It  must  be  remembered  that  the  descent  of  Cyrus  from 
Astyages  rests  on  very  doubtful  authority.  The  very  name  of 
Astyages  has  a  mythical  aspect,  as  it  is  merely  the  Greek  form 
of  the  Zend  Aj-dahak,  "the  biting  snake"  of  night  and  dark- 
ness, the  Ahi  of  the  Hindu  Veda,  and  the  Zohak  of  Firdusi. 
— S. 


HISTORY  OF   BABYLONIA.  173 

After  uniting  Media  and  Persia,  Cyrus  proceeded  to 
extend  his  power  in  every  direction,  subduing  nation 
after  nation  to  his  yoke.  In  the  course  of  these  wars 
he  came  in  contact  with  the  Lydians,  then  ruled  by 
Croesus.  Croesus,  who  in  a  smaller  way  had  been 
extending  his  dominions,  feared  he  would  be  attacked, 
and  sent  to  make  an  alliance  with  Babylonia,  Egypt, 
and  Sparta.  Before  these  allies  could  assist  him  he 
was  assaulted  by  Cyrus,  who,  after  an  indecisive  battle, 
followed  Croesus  to  his  capital,  Sardis,  and  besieged 
and  captured  the  city  ;  thus  putting  an  end  to  the 
Lydian  power. 

During  this  contest  Babylonia  and  Egypt  remained 
inactive,  and  nothing  was  done  to  check  the  power 
of  Persia,  while  Cyrus  overran  and  conquered  all  Asia 
Minor. 

After  his  preparations  were  complete,  Cyrus  pro- 
claimed war  against  Nabonidus,  king  of  Babylon.  The 
Chaldeans,  after  their  long  peace,  were  unfitted  for  war, 
and  Nabonidus  appears  to  have  been  destitute  of  mili- 
tary skill.  In  a  single  battle  Cyrus  defeated  the  Baby- 
lonian army,  and  at  once  invested  Babylon,  while 
Nabonidus  sought  refuge  in  the  neighbouring  city 
of  Borsippa.  At  this  time  we  gather  from  the  book 
of  Daniel  that  the  government  of  the  city  of  Babylon 


174  HISTORY    OF    BABYLONIA. 

was  in  the  hands  of  Belshazzar,  who  is  mentioned  in 
an  inscription  of  the  period  along  with  his  father 
Nabonidus. 

Babylon  was  strongly  fortified,  and  its  people  were 
trusting  in  their  defences  and  holding  high  festival, 
when  the  Persians,  who  had  made  a  canal  above  the 
city,  and  diverted  part  of  the  waters  of  the  river,  forded 
the  Euphrates  in  the  night,  and  entered  the  city  by 
the  river  gates,  which  has  been  left  unguarded  during 
the  festival.  Belshazzar,  son  of  Nabonidus,  was 
slain  in  the  attack,  and  the  city  fell  into  the  hands  of 
Cyrus,  B.C.  539. 

The  book  of  Daniel  here  states  that  Darius,  son 
of  Ahasuerus,  took  the  kingdom,  while  ancient  authors 
generally  represent  Cyrus  as  sole  leader  of  the  con- 
quest. Much  discussion  has  arisen  as  to  the  person- 
ality of  this  Darius  ;  some  suppose  him  to  be  Astyages, 
the  grandfather  of  Cyrus ;  others  make  him  the  same 
as  Cyaxares,  son  of  Astyages  ;  while  a  third  section 
consider  him  to  be  a  Median  prince,  otherwise  un- 
known to  history.  One  inquirer,  Mr.  Bosanquet, 
adheres  to  the  unlikely  theory  that  he  is  the  same  as 
Darius  Hystaspes.1 

The  existence  of  Cyaxares,  the  son  of  Astyages,  is  more 
than  doubtful,  as  it  depends  on  Xenophon'.s  romance  of  the  Cyro- 


HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA.  175 

The  inscriptions  have  as  yet  afforded  no  information 
on  this  point,  but  we  may  be  certain  that  the  rule  of 
this  Darius  was  short,  and  Ptolemy's  Canon,  our  best 
chronological  authority,  places  the  first  year  of  Cyrus 
B.C  538. 

Cyrus,  after  the  conquest  of  Babylon,  administered 
the  government  with  care  and  attention  to  the  laws 
and  religion  of  the  country.  The  Persians  were 
Monotheists,  and  in  principle  opposed  to  the  degrad- 
ing religions  of  Western  Asia ;  but  in  the  time  of 
Cyrus  they  adopted  the  rule  of  governing  the  subject 
countries  in  accordance  with  their  native  traditions. 
Thus  we  find  Cyrus,  who  by  religion  believed  in  one 
God  only,  and  raised  no  images  for  his  worship,  re- 
pairing in  Babylonia  the  temples  of  Saggal  at  Babylon, 
Sidda  at  Borsippa,  and  Parra  at  Larsa,  and  preserving 
the  Babylonian  worship  in  these  temples. 

The  same  desire  to  conciliate  the  nations  under  his 
sway  led  Cyrus  to  permit  the  Jews  to  return  to  their 
own  country,  and  to  rebuild  the  temple  which 

pasdia.  The  Hebrew  Ahasuerus  represents  the  Greek  Xerxes. 
The  dated  tablets  recently  procured  from  Babylon  record  only 
the  reigns  of  Nebuchadnezzar  and  his  successors  down  to  Na- 
bonidus  and  Merodach-sarra-utsur,  and  then  pass  on  to  Cyrus 
and  Cambyses. — S. 


176  HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA. 

Nebuchadnezzar  had  destroyed.  Cyrus  died  B.C. 
530,  leaving  his  crown  to  his  son  Cambyses,  under 
whom  there  was  little  change  in  the  condition  of 
Babylonia.  The  people,  however,  were  dissatisfied 
with  the  foreign  dominion,  and  secretly  prepared  to 
revolt  against  Persia,  only  waiting  for  an  opportunity 
to  throw  off  the  yoke  of  their  conquerors. 

An  opportunity  soon  occurred :  Cambyses  was  absent 
in  Egypt  (which  he  conquered  B.C.  527)  during  the 
latter  part  of  his  reign,  and  some  dissatisfaction  arose 
in  Media  and  Persia  in  consequence.  The  dissatis- 
faction among  the  Medes  was  increased  by  the  feeling 
that  whereas  Media  had  been  the  chief  state,  it  was 
now  subject  to  Persia,  which  had  once  been  tributary 
to  it. 

Cambyses  had  secretly  murdered  his  younger 
brother  Bardes,  or  Smerdis,  and  this  fact  appears  to 
have  been  unknown  among  the  people.  A  Median, 
one  of  the  Magi,  named  Gumatu  or  Gomates,  taking 
advantage  of  the  disaffection  during  the  absence  of 
Cambyses,  personated  the  dead  prince  Smerdis, 
and  declaring  himself  son  of  Cyrus,  rose  in  rebellion 
B.C.  522,  and  Media  and  Persia  went  over  to  him. 
Cambyses,  on  hearing  of  the  revolt,  left  Egypt  in  haste 
to  meet  the  pretender,  but  killed  himself  (perhaps  by 


HISTORY    OF    BABYLONIA.  177 

accident)  in  Syria  while  on  the  road  to  Persia.  Soon 
aftenvards  the  Magian  usurper  was  killed  by  Darius, 
son  of  Hystaspes  ("  Ancient  Hist  from  the  Monu- 
ments:  Persia,"  pp.  29,  30,  S.P.CK.),  and  Darius 
mounted  the  throne  of  Persia. 

During  these  troubles  the  Babylonians  were  pre- 
paring to  revolt,  and  a  man  arose  among  them  named 
Nadintu-Bel,  son  of  Aniri,  who  declared  himself  to  be 
Nebuchadnezzar,  son  of  Nabonidus,  the  late  Baby- 
lonian sovereign. 

Under  this  man  the  Babylonians  revolted  on  the 
accession  of  Darius,  B.C.  522,  and  at  the  same  time 
Susiana  threw  off  the  yoke  of  Persia.  Darius,  after 
sending  a  deputy,  who  conquered  the  Susians,  pro- 
ceeded himself  against  Babylon.  On  arriving  at  the 
Tigris,  the  Persian  monarch  found  the  Babylonians 
had  command  of  the  river,  and  opposed  his  crossing ; 
they  had  removed  the  ferry-boats,  and  posted  their 
forces  opposite  the  road,  but  Darius  passed  his  troops 
over  the  river,  and  defeated  the  Babylonian  army ; 
after  which  he  marched  towards  Babylon,  and  reached 
the  Euphrates  at  the  town  of  Zazan,  near  Babylon, 
where  the  pretended  Nebuchadnezzar  again  offered 
battle.  In  the  second  engagement  the  Persians  were 
again  triumphant,  the  Babylonians  being  routed,  and 


178  HISTORY   OF   BABYLONIA. 

part  of  their  forces  driven  into  the  river.  Nadintu- 
Bel  fled  with  a  few  of  his  soldiers,  and  took  refuge  in 
Babylon,  where  he  was  followed  and  captured  by 
Darius,  who  executed  him  for  his  rebellion  about 
B.C.  521. 

For  some  years  after  this  Babylon  remained  subject 
to  Persia,  but  about  B.C.  515  a  man  named  Arahu, 
son  of  Handita,  arose  at  a  town  named  Duban,  and, 
like  Nadintu-Bel,  personated  Nebuchadnezzar,  son  of 
Nabonidus.  The  people  of  Babylon  again  revolted, 
and  making  this  man  king,  prepared  to  resist  Darius. 
The  Persian  monarch  sent  a  general,  who  advanced  to 
Babylon,  and  besieged  Arahu  there.  How  long  the 
siege  lasted  we  are  not  told,  but  the  Persians  cap- 
tured the  city,  and  taking  Arahu  prisoner,  crucified  him. 

With  the  crushing  of  the  second  revolt  against 
Persia  ends  the  monumental  history  of  Babylonia ;  its 
history  after  this  is  only  the  history  of  a  province  of 
the  successive  empires  of  the  East.  It  is  true  that 
the  Babylonian  religion  survived,  and  the  cuneiform 
writing  continued  to  be  used  for  some  centuries ;  but 
these  also  in  time  perished,  and  at  the  time  of  the 
Christian  era  everything  but  the  Babylonian  super- 
stitions and  astrology  had  passed  away. 

After  the  Persian  conquest  Babylon  remained  one 


HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA. 


I79 


of  the  capitals  of  the  empire,  and  it  retained  this  posi- 
tion until  the  rise  of  the  city  of  Seleucia,  after  which 
Babylon  gradually  decayed,  until  its  palaces  became 
mounds  of  rubbish,  in  which  it  is  impossible  to  recog- 
nize the  outlines  and  features  of  the  original  buildings. 
The  fall  of  Babylon  was  brought  about  through  the 
vice  and  corruption  of  the  religion  and  morals  of  the 
country.  The  numerous  deities,  the  slavish  supersti- 
tions, the  obscene  rites  of  the  goddesses,  the  debasing 
ignorance  of  the  bulk  of  the  people,  and  the  indolence 
begotten  of  triumph  and  pillage,  combined  with  a  gene- 
ral moral  and  mental  decay,  were  more  disastrous  to 
the  country  than  the  arms  of  the  Persian  conquerors. 


N    2 


EXPLANATION  OF  BABYLONIAN  PROPER 

NAMES. 

[Added  by  the  Editor.] 

THE  derivation  of  Babylonian  proper  names  has  to  be  sought, in 
four  different  languages.  The  oldest  names  belong  to  the 
agglutinative  Accadian,  the  later  to  the  inflectional  Semitic. 
Besides  these,  there  are  other  proper  names,  the  explanation  of 
which  is  to  be  found  in  the  allied  dialects  of  Elam  and  the  Cassi 
(Kossaeans),  which  belong  to  the  same  family  of  speech  as  the 
Accadian. 

ACCADIAN  NAMES. 

Ubara-Tutu,  The  glow  of  the  setting  sun. 

Merodach,  The  brilliance  of  the  sun. 

Jfea,  The  god  of  the  house. 

Dav-kina,  The  mistress  of  the  earth. 

Na  (or  Anu),  The  sky. 

Nana,  Lady. 

Dumuzi  ( Tammuz),  The  offspring,  or  only  son. 

Sidtiri,  The  eye  of  youth. 

Lig-Bagas,  A  lion  (is)  the  goddess  Bagas. 

Dungi,  The  powerful. 

Ri-Agu  (or  Eri-Aku,  or  Rim-Agu},  The  servant  of  the  moon- 

god. 

Agu-kak-rimi,  The  moon-god  (is)  the  maker  of  our  light. 
Sipar  (Sippara),  The  shrine  of  the  sun. 
Accad  (Acada),  The  highlands. 
Ur  (or  Muru,  or  Eri),  The  city. 
Erech  (Urttkf),  The  city  of  the  land. 
E-Stiggal,  House  of  the  high  head. 
Silim-kalama,  Couch  of  the  world. 

ELAMITE  NAMES. 

Kudur-Mabuk,  Servant  of  Mabuk. 
Kudttr-Nanhundi,  Servant  of  Nankhunta. 
Kudur-Lagamar  (Chedorlaomer),  Servant  of  Lagamar. 
Te-umman,  Worshipper  of  Umman. 


EXPLANATION  OF  PROPER  NAMES.      l8l 

CASSITE  NAMES. 

Khammuragas,  Khammu  (is)  a  begetter. 
Kara-indas,  Servant  of  Indas. 
Biirna-buriyas,  A  law  (is)  Buryas. 
ATazi-bugas,  A  prince  (is)  Bugas  (Bagas). 
Meli-sipak,  The  man  of  Sipak. 
Gan-duniyas,  The  enclosure  of  Duniyas. 

SEMITIC  NAMES. 

Buzur-sadi-rabi,  The  defence  (?)  of  the  great  mountain. 

Uea-bani,  Hea  (is)  my  creator. 

Ismi-Dagan,  Dagon  has  heard. 

Naram-Sin,  The  chosen  of  the  moon-god. 

Assur-yubalidh,  Assur  gave  life. 

Muballidhat-Seruya,  The  quickened  of  Seruya. 

Bd-nirari,  Bel  (is)  my  help. 

Shalmaneser  ('Sallimanu-esar),  Shalman  guides  straight. 

Merodach-baladan  (Maruduk-bal-iddina),  Merodach  gave  a  son. 

Zamama-zakir-idina,  Zamama  gave  a  memorial. 

Nebuchadrezzar    (Nabu-kudura-ittsur),    Nebo,    defend    [or  has 

created]  the  crown,  or  landmark. 
Assur-ris-ilim,  Assur,  the  head  of  the  gods. 
Tiglath-pileser  ( Tugitlti-fal-esar),  The  servant  of  (the  god)  the 

son  of  Bit-Esar. 

Assur-bel-kala,  Assur,  the  lord  of  all. 

Maruditk-sapik-tsirrat,  Merodach,  the  heaper  up  of  dominion. 
Hea-mukin-ziri,  Hea,  establisher  of  a  seed. 
Maritdiik-nadin-akhi,  Merodach,  the  giver  of  brethren. 
Samsu-tluna,  The  sun-god  (is)  our  god. 
Nabu-zakir-iscun,  Nabo  established  the  memorial. 
Assur-natsir-pal,  Assur,  the  protector  of  the  son. 
Miisallimu-Maniduk,  Merodach  (is)  a  completer. 
Maruduk-baladhsn-ikbi,  Merodach  announced  his  life. 
Nabu-yusabsi,  Nebo  caused  to  exist. 
A'in-ziru,  Establish  a  seed. 

Sennacherib  (Sin-akhi-erba),  The  moon-god  increased  brothers. 
Bi'l-ibni,  Bel  created. 

Assur-nadin-sum(i),  Assur,  the  giver  of  a  name. 
Nabu-zir-napisti-esir,  Nebo  guides  straight  the  seed  of  life. 
Esarhaddon  (Assur-akhi-iddina),  Assur  gave  brothers. 
Bel-basa,,  Bel  exists. 
Assur-dayan,  Assur(is)  judge. 
Assur-bani-pal,  Assur,  create  a  son. 


1 82  EXPLANATION    OF    PROPER    NAMES. 

Assur-dur-tttsur,  Assur,  defend  the  fortress. 

Sin-tabni-utsur,  Sin,  defend  the  offspring. 

Mannu-ki-babili,  What  (is)  like  Babylon  ? 

ffea-mubasa,  Hea  (is)  he  that  makes  exist. 

Nabopolassar  (Nabu-pal-ittsur),  Nebo,  protect  (or  has  created) 
the  son. 

Evil-Merodach  (Amil-Maniduk),  The  man  of  Merodach. 

Nergal-Sarra-utsur,  Nergal,  protect  (or  has  created)  the  king. 

Ulbar-surki-iddina,  The  god  of  Bit-Ulbar  gave  presents. 

Nabonidtts  (Nabu-nahid),  Nebo  is  glorious.  (The  Accadian 
equivalent  of  nahid  is  imttik.) 

Nadintu-Bel,  The  gift  of  Bel. 

Bel  (Bilu),  Lord. 

Nabo  (Nabiu,  or  Nabu),T\ie.  prophet. 

Tasmit,  The  hearer. 

Saru,  The  wind. 

Bab-salimiti,  Gate  of  peace. 

Babylon  (Bab-ili),  Gate  of  God. 

Elam  (Elamu),  The  Highlands  (the  Semitic  rendering  of  the 
native  name  Khabarti,  or  Khubur ;  Numma  in  Acca- 
dian). 

Me-  Turnat,  The  waters  of  the  Tornadotus. 

Kar-Assur,  Fort  of  Assur. 

Imgur-Bel,  The  beloved  (?)  of  Bel. 

Nimit-Bel  (or  rather  Nemid-Bel),  The  foundation  of  Bel. 


INDEX, 


ACCAD,  or  AKKAD,  a  district  originally  named  from  its  in- 
habitants, the  Accadai,  "  Highlanders ; "  also  read  Agane, 
n.  p.  61  ;  first  four  cities,  Babel,  Erech,  Akkad,  and 
Calneh,  p.  61  ;  the  country  of  classical  cuneiform  litera- 
ture, from  which  all  the  great  Assyrian  works  were  copied, 

75- 

Accadian  language  and  literature,  18;  libraries  at  Agane,  Senkereh, 
Ur,  Erech,  and Cuthah,  19;  charms,  ormagic  formulae,  divina- 
tion and  omens,  dread  of  the  powers  of  evil,  hymn  to  the 
seven  baleful  spirits,  20-22 ;  hymns  to  the  gods  compiled 
B.C.  2,000,  compared  with  the  Rig- Veda,  23,  24;  hymns 
to  Merodach  and  Samas,  24,  25  ;  penitential  psalm,  26,  27  ; 
prayer,  27  ;  mythological  poems  founded  on  astronomy,  29  ; 
hymns  translated  into  Assyrian,  29 ;  laws  relating  to 
slaves,  legal  precedents  and  decisions,  30,  31  ;  respect  for 
women,  30;  language  agglutinative,  35,  n. 

Adrahasis,  or  Hasisadra  compared  with  Noah,  37. 

Agu-kak-rimi  restored  the  temple  of  Bel  at  Babylon,  and 
ransomed  the  images  of  Merodach  and  Zirat-banit  from  the 
land  of  Hani,  77. 

Ashdod  besieged  by  the  Egyptians,  who  also  wrested  Car- 
chemish  from  the  Assyrians,  149,  151. 

Amraphel,  or  Amarpul,  92. 

Amil-Maruduk,  the  Biblical  Evil-Merodach,  a  mild  and  peaceful 
ruler  ;  released  Jehoiachin,  but  detained  him  in  honourable 
captivity;  murdered  by  his  brother-in-law,  167,  168. 

Antiquity  and  extent  of  Babylonian  civilization,  14,  32. 

Anu,  the  god  of  heaven ;  Anatu,  his  consort,  57. 

Arahu,  a  Babylonian  pretender,  crucified  by  Darius,  178. 

Arioch,  Eri-aku,  or  Rim-agu,  son  of  Kudur-mabug,  93,  n. 

Arts  and  sciences  cultivated  by  the  Babylonians,  15. 

Astronomy  derived  from  Chaldaea,  15. 

Assur-dayan  sent  expeditions  against  Ituha  and  Gananati,  109. 

Assur-nazir-pal  defeated  the  Shuites  and  Babylonians,  and  sub- 
dued the  region  of  the  Khabur,  101,  102. 

Assur-ubalid's  daughter  married  to  the  king  of  Babylonia,  85. 


184  HISTORY  OF   BABYLONIA. 

Athara,  the  city  where  the  chiefs  of  Pekod  and  Hindaru  sub- 
mitted and  paid  tribute  to  Sargon,  119. 

BABEL,  "gate  of  God,"  the  Semitic  rendering  of  Ca-Dimirra, 
possibly  in  reference  to  the  building  of  the  Tower,  53,  n. 

Bab-salimiti,  a  city  on  the  Persian  Gulf,  13,  14,  131. 

Babylon,  city  of,  built  in  very  early  times,  75  ;  asserted  by  the 
Babylonians  to  have  been  a  great  city  before  the  Deluge, 
53  ;  a  place  of  little  importance  till  it  became  the  capital, 
and  held  this  position  more  than  1,200  years,  75  ;  first 
made  sole  capital  by  Khammuragas,  who  greatly  enriched 
it,  and  added  splendour  to  its  worship  of  Merodach  or  Bel, 
8 1,  82;  captured  by  Tiglath-pileser,  97  ;  by  Shalmaneser, 
104;  by  Sargon,  121,  122;  by  Sennacherib,  126;  by  the 
Elamites  and  Chaldaeans,  131  ;  again  by  Sennacherib,  given 
up  to  indiscriminate  plunder,  completely  destroyed,  and  the 
great  canal  filled  up  with  the  ruins,  135,  136;  rebuilt  by 
Esar-haddon,  139 ;  captured  by  Assur-bani-pal,  when 
Saul-mugina  set  fire  to  his  own  palace  and  perished  in  the 
flames,  147;  the  city  rose  into  greater  importance  under 
Nabopolassar,  and  his  son,  Nebuchadnezzar,  became  the 
centre  of  the  political  world,  153  ;  the  latter  restored  its 
walls,  temples,  and  palaces  on  a  scale  of  great  magnificence 
whilst  engaged  in  wars  with  the  adjoining  countries,  156- 
165  ;  boast,  "Is  not  this  great  Babylon,"  &c.,  165  ;  its 
wealth  and  luxury,  166,  167;  the  Persian  conquest  under 
Cyrus,  173,  174  ;  the  city  captured  by  Darius,  who  put  the 
pretender,  Nadintu-Bel,  to  death,  and  again,  a  few  years 
afterwards,  when  Arahu,  who  had  personated  a  son  of 
Nabonidus,  was  taken  prisoner  and  crucified,  177-178; 
causes  of  its  fall,  181. 

Babylonia,  boundaries  of,  varied  at  different  periods,  34 ; 
thought  to  have  been  first  peopled  by  Turanians,  who  were 
conquered  and  dispossessed  by  Semites,  34,  35  ;  history  of 
the  country  translated  by  Berosus  from  its  own  records 
into  Greek  in  the  third  century,  B.C.,  now  lost  except  a 
few  fragments,  35. 

Babylonian  kings,  lists  of,  &c.,  8-12. 

Babylonian  libraries,  19  ;  mathematical  works,  tables  of  squares 
and  cubes  now  in  British  Museum  from  Senkereh,  19 ; 
literature,  included  beast-fables,  contract  tablets,  deeds  of 
sale,  geographical  lists,  chronological  tables,  historical 
documents,  copies  of  correspondence,  catalogues  of  animals, 
trees,  stones,  &c.,  &<x,  31,  32. 

Babylonian  proper  names  :  Accadian,  Elamite,  Cassite,  and 
Semitic,  180-2. 

Babylonian  religion,  a  mixture  of  graceful  myths  and  the 
worship  of  stocks  and  stones,  15,  16. 


INDEX.  185 

Bel  and  Nebo,  temples  of,  plundered  by  the  Elamites,  94 ;  by 
Suzub,  134. 

Bel-Merodach,  164,  n. 

Bel-nirari  routed  the  Kassu,  slew  Nazi-bugas,  and  placed  a  son 
of  Burna-buriyas  on  the  Babylonian  throne,  86. 

Bel-shazzar  slain  on  the  taking  of  Babylon  by  Cyrus  during  a 
high  religious  festival,  173,  174. 

Bel-zakir-iskun  defeated  by  the  Assyrian  general,  Nabu-pal- 
uzur,  who  was  rewarded  with  the  crown  of  Babylonia  on 
his  subjugation  of  the  country,  149. 

Birs  Nimnkl,  view  of,  76. 

Borsippa,  a  city,  supposed  to  be  the  site  of  the  Tower  of  Con- 
fusion ;  the  refuge  of  Nabonidus  on  his  defeat  by  Cyrus,  173. 

Burna-buriyas  confirmed  a  previous  treaty  respecting  the  fron- 
tiers of  Babylonia  and  Assyria,  85. 

CALAH,  revolt  at,  ended  in  the  elevation  of  Tiglath-pileser,  1 10. 

Cambyses  murdered  his  brother  Smerdis,  conquered  Egypt,  but 
was  harassed  in  the  latter  part  of  his  reign  by  revolts,  and 
accidentally  killed  whilst  hastening  to  Persia  to  put  down 
Gomates,  176,  177. 

Chaldrean  accounts  of  creation  and  fall  of  man,  51,  52  ;  of  Babel, 

Sippara,  Larancha  and  Surippak  before  the  Deluge,  53. 

Chaldees,  origin  of,  unknown ;  some  of  the  early  dynasties 
styled  Chaldaean  ;  called  Caldai  on  the  monuments,  and 
first  obtained  possession  of  Babylon,  B.C.  722,  under 
Merodach-baladan,  104,  105. 

Chedorlaomer  and  his  confederates  ravaged  and  plundered 
Palestine,  and  retired  with  great  booty ;  surprised  in  a 
night  attack  near  Damascus,  92,  93. 

Cities  of  Babylonia,  16,  18. 

Comparison  of  the  Chaldtean  account  of  the  Deluge  with  that  in 
the  Bible,  48,  51. 

Creation,  legend  from,  Cuthah,  19. 

Cuneiform  writing  invented  by  Turanians,  16;  characters  at 
first  hieroglyphics,  afterwards  represented  mere  sounds,  17. 

Cylindrical  seals,  32. 

Cyrus  threw  off  the  Median  yoke,  overran  and  annexed  various 
countries ;  took  Sardis,  and  put  an  end  to  the  Lydian 
kingdom  ;  overthrew  the  Babylonians  in  a  single  battle  ; 
seized  the  capital  during  a  religious  festival ;  permitted 
the  Jews  to  return  and  rebuild  Jerusalem,  and  allowed 
the  conquered  Babylonians  to  retain  their  own  worship, 
172-6. 

DAKKURI,  a  Chaldsean  tribe,  139-145. 

Darius,  son  of  Hystaspes,  slew  the  impostor  Gomates,  and 
mounted  the  Persian  throne ;  vigorously  repressed  the 
revolts  in  Elam  and  Babylonia,  putting  to  death  Nadintu- 


1 86  HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA. 

Bel,  the  pretended  son  of  Nabonidus  ;  his  general  captured 
Arahu,  another  pretender,  and  crucified  him,  1 77>  I  7& 

Destruction  of  Babylon  by  Sennacherib,  136. 

Division  of  Assyria  on  the  fall  of  Nineveh,  152-155. 

Dungi,  a  great  builder  of  temples,  72. 

Dur  or  Diru,  18,  108,  116. 

Duran  or  Duban,  18,  132. 

Dur-athara  taken  by  Sargon  ;  rebuilt,  and  its  name  changed  to 
Dur-Nabu,  119. 

Dur-kuri-galzu  (Akkerkuf),  built  by  Kur-galzu,  87  ;  seized  by 
Tiglath-pileser,  96,  97. 

Dur-papsakul  captured  by  Sargon,  106,  107. 

Dur-sar,  an  Elamite  fortress,  taken  from  Samsi-Vul,  122. 

Dur-yakin,  the  first  seat  of  Merodach- baladan's  government, 
118,  123,  124. 

EDEN  identified  with  Gan-duniyas,  52,  53. 

Elam,  peopled  by  warlike  Turanians,  often  ruled  by  several  petty 
princes;  chief  cities,  Shushan,  Madaktu,  and  Hidalu,  91. 

Eleventh  deluge,  Tablet  throws  light  on  Genesis  account,  38. 

Esar-haddon  rebuilt  Babylon,  restored  the  images  of  the  gods, 
139 ;  checked  the  Dakkuri,  burnt  their  king  Samas-ibni, 
and  received  Bel-basa's  submission  ;  released  Manasseh, 
&c.,  140-2. 

Evil-Merodach.     (See  AMIL-MARUDUK.) 

Etanna,  the  mythical  founder  of  Babel,  Tammuz,  and  Ner,  62. 

FALL  of  Assyria,  the  era  of  a  purer  faith,  153. 

Fast  of  loo  days  at  Nineveh,  151,  n. 

Frontiers  of  Assyria  definitely  settled  by  treaty,  102,  103. 

GAN-DUNI,  or  KAR-DUNIAS  identified  with  Eden,  by  Sir  H.  C. 
Rawlinson,  52,  53. 

HAMMURABI,  or  KHAMMURAGAS,  the  Cassite  conqueror  of 
Babylonia,  and  founder  of  a  new  dynasty  ;  made,  Babylon 
sole  capital,  and  added  splendour  to  the  worship  of  Mero- 
dach or  Bel  ;  was  a  builder  of  temples,  palaces,  and 
founded  several  cities,  besides  excavating  the  canal  named 
in  his  honour,  Hammu-rabinuhus-nisi,  81-3. 

Harbi-Sipak,  or  Murgas-Sipak,  84. 

Harris-kalama,  or  Kharsak-kalama,  76,  126. 

Hea-bani,  the  astrologer,  and  friend  of  Izdubar,  58. 

Hea-mubasa,  a  Chaldsean  chief,  145. 

Hea-mukin-ziru,  a  Chaldsean  usurper,  98. 

ILUL^EUS,  or  YUG/EUS,  king  of  Babylon,  114. 

Inda-bigas,  king  of  Elam,  147,  148. 

Iriba-Maruduk,  name  of  a  king,  only  found  on  a  weight,  100. 

Ishtar,  the  celebrated  queen  of  Erech,  55  ;  offers  to  marry 
Izdubar,  and  her  revenge  on  his  refusal,  55-7. 

Ishtar,  the  goddess,  the  Biblical  Ashtoreth,  55,  n. 


INDEX.  187 

Ismi-dagan,  and  Libit-Ishtar,  kings  of  Karrak,  73. 

Izdubar,  supposed  to  be  Nimrod,  made  Erech  his  capital ; 
friendship  with  Hea-bani,  exploits  and  mythical  adventures, 
54-7 ;  journey  to  Hasisadra,  who  relates  to  him  the  story 
of  the  Flood,  58,  59. 

KARA-HARDAS,  or  KARA-MURDAS,  son  of  a  daughter  of  Assur- 
ubalid,  85,  86. 

Kara-indas,  titles  assumed  by  him,  and  his  treaty  with  Assur- 
bel-nisi-su,  84,  85. 

Kara-samas,  a  city  on  the  Tigris,  founded  by  Hammurabi,  82. 

Karrak,  fall  of,  used  as  an  era,  74. 

Kassu,  tribe  of,  first  mentioned  in  an  inscription  of  Aga-kak- 
rimi,  murdered  the  king  of  Babylon,  and  set  up  Nazi-bugas, 
86. 

Kassu-nadin-ahi,  the  successor  of  Hea-mukin-ziru,  98. 

Kisu  (Hymer),  a  city  where  Hammu-rabi  restored  the  temple  of 
Zamama,  and  built  a  famous  tower,  82. 

Kudur-lagamar  (see  CHEDORLAOMER),  92. 

Kudur-nanhundi  invaded  Babylonia,  and  carried  away  the  image 
of  Nana,  91,  92. 

Kuri-galzu  restored  several  Chaldsean  temples,  and  founded  a 
strong  city  near  Baghdad,  87. 

LARSA  (Senkereh)  became  the  capital  of  Riagu's  dominions  after 
the  fall  of  Karrak,  71,  74. 

MANNU-KA-BILI,  a  chief  of  the  Dakkuri,  145. 

Maruduk-baladsu-iqbi  vanquished  by  Samsi-Vul,  who  captureed 
his  wholecamp,  the  royal  chariots,  pavilion,  and  couch,  105-7. 

Maruduk-zakir-izkur,  assisted  by  the  Assyrians,  quelled  a  re- 
bellion headed  by  his  own  brother,  who  was  slain  after 
his  flight  to  Halman,  103,  104. 

Merodach-baladan  I. ,  the  successor  of  Mili-Sipak,  routed  by  Vul- 
nirari,  who  ravaged  Upper  Babylonia,  and  wrested  from 
him  the  region  of  the  Khabur,  87. 

Merodach-baladan  II.  rebuilt  the  temple  of  Erech,  100. 

Merodach-baladan,  the  contemporary  of  Sargon  and  Senna- 
cherib, struggled  bravely  for  nearly  thirty  years  to  maintain 
the  independence  of  Babylonia ;  formed  alliances  with  the 
Elamites,  and  sent  an  embassy  to  Hezekiah  ;  was  twice 
defeated  and  captured,  and  sent  prisoner  to  Nineveh,  but 
again  escaped  ;  murdered  Hagisa  or  Akises,  and  mounted 
the  Babylonian  throne,  115-125  ;  this  defection  brought 
Sennacherib  against  him,  who,  after  the  disastrous  battle  at 
Kisu,  entered  Babylon  in  triumph,  plundered  the  palace, 
and  destroyed  nearly  all  the  neighbouring  cities  and  villages, 
and  appointed  Bel-ibni  as  governor ;  left  a  force  to  watch 
for  Merodach-baladan,  and  returned  to  Assyria,  126,  127  ; 
in  despair  the  fugitive  king  collected  his  adherents  and  the 


1 88  HISTORY  OF   BABYLONIA. 

images  of  his  gods,  sailed  down  the  Persian  Gulf,  and 
founded  a  Chaldaean  colony  in  Elam,  where  he  died,  126. 

Merodach-nadin-ahi  worsted  Tugulti-pal-esar,  and  carried  away 
the  images  of  Vul  and  Sala  from  Hekali,  but  was  himself 
completely  overthrown  the  next  year,  when  the  Assyrians 
seized  Babylon,  and  nearly  all  the  important  cities,  96,  97. 

Merodach-sapit-zirrat  made  peace  with  Assur-bel-kala,  97. 

Merodach's  war  with  Tiamat  compared  with  that  of  Michael  and 
the  great  dragon,  52,  53,  n. 

Media,  rise  of,  under  Cyaxares,  149. 

Medo-Persians  excelled  the  older  empires  in  government  and 
military  discipline,  153. 

Mili-Sipak,  son  of  Kuri-galzu,  father  of  Merodach-baladan  I.,  87. 

NABU-IMTUK,  or  NABU-NAHID,  ascended  the  throne  after  the 
assassination  of  Laborosoarchod,  170  ;  was  a  great  builder, 
and  in  the  latter  part  of  his  reign  allowed  his  son  Bel-shazzar 
(Bel-sar-uzur)  to  share  with  him  the  regal  dignity,  171  ;  fled 
after  his  defeat,  by  Cyrus,  to  Borsippa,  leaving  his  son  to 
defend  Babylon  (see  CYRUS),  172-4. 

Nabu-kudur-uzur  (Nebuchadnezzar),  the  son  of  Nabu-pal-uzurr 
made  Babylonia  the  mistress  of  the  surrounding  countries, 
153-5  ;  surprised  and  routed  the  Egyptians  at  Carchemish, 
and  pushed  his  way,  almost  unopposed,  to  the  frontiers  of 
Egypt,  1 56  ;  received  the  submission  of  Jehoiakim,  and  a 
few  years  later  deposed  Jehoiachin,  and  set  up  his  uncle, 
Zedekiah,  in  his  stead,  as  king  of  Judah,  157  ;  crashed  the 
power  of  Elam,  and  returned  to  Syria,  fixed  his  head- 
quarters at  Riblah,  besieged  Tyre,  and  sent  his  general, 
Nebuzaradan  against  Jerusalem,  who  captured  the  king 
whilst  attempting  to  escape,  plundered  the  city,  burnt  and 
razed  it  to  the  ground,  besides  carrying  away  most  of  the 
inhabitants  as  prisoners,  156-159;  left  Gedaliah  as  governor, 
who  was  murdered  by  some  disaffected  Jews,  and  the  coun- 
try was  again  ravaged  and  depopulated  as  a  punishment, 
161  ;  he  then  went  forward,  overran  and  plundered  Egypt, 
deposed  Hophra,  and  set  up  Ahmes  as  a  vassal  king,  162  ; 
his  conquests,  162,  163  :  more  famous  as  a  builder  than  a 
conqueror,  rebuilt  and  adorned  all  the  great  temples,  but 
lavished  his  wealth  most  on  Babylon,  making  it  the  grandest 
city  in  the  world,  163-6  ;  the  chief  and  lesser  divinities 
shared  alike  his  devotion  and  gifts,  167. 

Nabu-pal-idina  joined  the  S.huites  against  the  Assyrians,  but 
sustained  a  terrible  reverse  (see  ASSUR-NAZIR-PAL),  101. 

Xabu-pal-uzur  rapidly  improved  the  defences  of  Babylonia,  and 
began  the  career  of  conquest  so  ably  carried  on  by  his 
illustrious  son,  Nebuchadnezzar,  153-6. 

Nabu-zakir-iskun  was  unable  to  repel  the  Assyrian  invaders,  who 


INDEX.  !89 

wrested  from  him  several  cities  on  the  Tigris,  including 
Baghdad,  or  rather  Khudadu,  100,  101. 

Nabu-zir-napisti-esir  seized  his  father's  original  dominions,  and 
tried  to  recover  all  Babylonia,  but  was  beaten  by  the 
Assyrians,  and'fled  to  Elam,  where  he  was  murdered,  138. 

Nadintu-Bel,  the  pretended  son  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  put  to 
death  by  Darius,  177,  178. 

Nahid-Maruduk,  on  submitting  to  Esar-haddon,  appointed 
governor  of  his  brother's  forfeited  territory,  139. 

Naram-Sin,  completed  Bit-Ulbar,  80. 

Nazi-bugas,  a  usurper,  defeated  and  slain  by  Bel-nirari,  who 
placed  a  son  of  Burna-buriyas  on  the  throne,  86. 

Nazi-munidas,  beaten  by  the  Assyrians  at  Kar-istar-agarsal,  87, 
88. 

Nebuchadnezzar.     (See  NABU-KUDUR-UZUR.) 

iN'ergal-sharezer  assumed  the  crown  after  the  murder  of  Evil- 
Merodach  ;  was  present  at  the  taking  of  Jerusalem  ;  built  a 
new  palace,  and  restored  an  old  structure,  1 68,  169. 

Ningal-idina,  the  Assyrian  governor  of  Ur,  besieged  by  Nabu- 
zir-napisti-esir,  138. 

Nipur  (Niffer),  the  parent  city  of  Ur,  devoted  to  the  worship  of 
Bel,  Belat,  and  Ninip,  63,  64 ;  no  records  of  its  primeval 
history  ;  walls  restored  by  Vul-pal-idina,  ico. 

CANNES,  a  fabulous  being,  said  to  have  taught  the  arts  of 
civilized  life  to  the  Babylonians,  36. 

PORUS,  or  PUL,  thought  to  be  Tiglath-pileser,  114. 

REVOLT  against  Assur-bani-pal  by  Chaldaea,  Arabia,  Syria,  Lydia, 
Palestine,  Egypt,  and  Elam,  142-5  ;  the  confederate  armies 
expelled  the  Assyrian  garrisons  from  Babylonia,  and  fortified 
Sippara,  Babylon,  Borsippa,  and  Cutha,  as  military  centres, 
which  were  successively  taken  by  the  Assyrians,  145,  146. 

Rim-agu,  or  Ri-agu,  during  a  peace  of  thirty  years,  largely 
developed  the  internal  resources  and  wealth  of  his  country, 
till  it  was  attacked  and  conquered  by  Hammurabi,  74. 

SAGA-SALTIYAS  restored  the  temples  at  the  two  Sipparas,  84. 

Sammuramit,  wife  of  Vul-nirari,  108,  109. 

Samsi-Vul  utterly  routed  the  Babylonians  and  their  mercenaries 
at  Ahadaba,  seized  many  of  the  important  towns,  and  burnt 
hundreds  of  villages  (see  Merodach-baladsu-iqbi),  105-7  5 
renewed  the  war  soon  after,  took  Dur,  and  celebrated  a 
festival  to  its  great  god,  107. 

Samsu-iluna,  the  successor  of  Hammurabi,  excavated  a  large 
canal  named  after  himself,  repaired  Dur-Sargina,  and  made 
images  overlaid  with  gold  for  the  temples  of  Saggal,  Parra, 
and  Larsa,  83. 

Saparda,  the  biblical  Sepharad,  151,  n. 

Sargon,  the  Babylonian  Moses,  his  birth,  exposure  and  adoption, 


1 90  HISTORY   OF    BABYLONIA. 

by  Akki,  conquered  the  Elamites,  Syrians,  and  Kazalla,  78, 
79  ;  besieged  in  his  own  capital,  successful  sally  and  rout 
of  the  rebels,  ravaged  Subarti  with  fire  and  sword,  79,  80  ; 
a  great  builder  of  temples  and  palaces,  and  founder  of  the 
city  Dur-Sargina,  left  nearly  all  the  surrounding  countries 
tributary  to  his  successor,  80. 

Sargon  II.,  soon  after  his  accession  crushed  the  revolt  in  Pales- 
tine, and  then  marched  against  Merodach-baladan  and  his 
Elamite  allies,  drove  the  latter  into  their  own  territory,  and 
wasted  a  part  of  Babylonia,  116,  117  ;  engaged  in  wars  the 
next  ten  years  with  Syria,  Media,  and  Armenia,  116,  117  ; 
Merodach-baladan  ruled  well,  and  prepared  for  the  renewal 
of  hostilities,  and  fortified  Dur-athara  to  stop  Sargon's  ad- 
vance ;  but  the  city  was  captured  with  immense  booty  and 
prisoners  ;  fourteen  of  the  principal  cities  by  the  river  Ukni 
were  taken  and  plundered,  and  two  Elamite  forts,  and  Sutur- 
nanhundi  compelled  to  retreat  with  his  army  to  his  moun- 
tain territories,  1 18-20 ;  next  advanced  towards  Babylon,  and 
Merodach-bala<lan  retreated  to  Iqbi-Bel,  121  ;  he  entered 
Babylon  in  triumph,  and  offered  costly  sacrifices  to  the  gods, 
121,  122  ;  Merodach-baladan  next  retired  with  all  his  forces 
to  Dur-yakin,  where  he  was  defeated  with  great  slaughter, 
and  all  his  treasures  captured  ;  he  then  submitted  to  Sargon, 
and  was  carried  into  captivity  with  his  wife  and  children, 
123  ;  the  conqueror  secured  the  friendship  of  the  priesthood 
by  restoring  the  rites  and  offerings  of  the  various  gods,  and 
reigned  at  Babylon  five  years,  where  he  received  two 
embassies  from  distant  countries,  123,  124. 

Sennacherib,  on  ascending  the  throne,  resided  at  Nineveh,  and 
appointed  his  brother  governor  of  Babylon,  but  Merodach- 
baladan  escaped  from  captivity,  murdered  him,  and  resumed 
the  Babylonian  crown,  125  ;  burning  with  the  desire  of 
revenge  Sennacherib  hastened  to  Kisu,  utterly  routed  the 
Babylonians,  and  Merodach-baladan  fled  for  safety  to  the 
marshes,  125,  126  ;  Babylon  and  the  neighbouring  cities 
were  plundered,  and  hundreds  of  villages  destroyed,  126; 
Bel-ibni,  a  court  favourite,  was  placed  on  the  throne,  the 
Nomad  tribes  were  severely  punished,  and  208,000  prisoners, 
with  their  cattle,  carried  away  to  Assyria  ;  a  force  was  also 
left  to  watch  for  Merodach-baladan,  who  collected  his 
adherents  and  abandoned  his  country ;  founded  a  Chaldaean 
colony  in  Elam,  127,  128;  Suzub  next  defied  Sennacherib's 
power,  but  was  defeated,  and  fled  for  safety  to  the  swamps; 
Bel-ibni  deposed,  and  Assur-nadin-mu,  set  up  as  king  in 
his  stead,  128;  a  powerful  expedition  sent  by  sea  against 
the  new  colony,  landed,  defeated  them  and  their  allies,  and 
forced  large  numbers  with  the  cattle  into  the  ships,  and 


INDEX. 


191 


conveyed  them  to  Bab-salimiti,  128-31 ;  Babylon  captured 
in  the  interim  by  the  Chaldaeans  and  Elamites,  and  Suzub 
again  proclaimed  king,  but  defeated  by  the  Assyrian  rein- 
forcements and  taken  captive,  sent  bound  to  Nineveh ;  a 
large  army  ravaged  Elam  with  fire  and  sword,  and  destroyed 
most  of  the  large  cities  ;  Suzub  escaped  from  confinement, 
revolted,  :md  at  first  sought  safety  in  the  marshes,  and  after- 
wards in  Elam,  where  he  raised  a  considerable  army,  re- 
turned to  Babylon,  mounted  the  throne,  and  expelled  the 
Assyrians  from  the  country,  131-3 ;  the  assistance  of  the 
Elamites  was  obtained  by  Suzub  with  the  treasures  of  Bel, 
Nebo,  and  Nergal,  sent  as  a  present  to  Umman-minan,  134 ; 
Sennacherib  eagerly  met  the  rebels  at  Halule,  where  he 
gained  a  decisive  victory,  taking  an  incredible  number  of 
prisoners,  and  heaps  of  spoil,  but  retired  on  the  approach 
of  winter,  134,  135  ;  the  next  year  Babylon  was  stormed, 
given  up  to  plunder,  the  images  of  the  gods  broken  up,  the 
city  burnt,  and  levelled  with  the  ground,  and  Suzub,  with 
part  of  his  family,  captured,  135,  136. 

Shalmaneser  III.,  sent  three  expeditions  to  Ituha,  109. 

Simti-silhak,  father  of  Kudur-mabuk,  74. 

Sin-tabni-uzur,  son  of  Ningal-idina,  145. 

Suzub,  see  latter  part  of  Sennacherib's  wars,  &c.,  128-36. 

TAB  LETS  relating  to  the  close  of  the  Assyrian  monarchy,  150, 1 5 1 ,  n . 

Tammaritu,  an  Elamite  parricide,  surrendered  to  Assur-bani- 
pal  on  a  promise  of  pardon,  146,  147. 

feredon,  a  port  on  the  Persian  Gulf,  14. 

Tiglath-pileser  subdued  several  Babylonian  tribes,  appointed 
military  governors,  built  Kar-Assur,  and  peopled  it  with 
captives ;  captured  Nabu-usabsi,  and  impaled  him  in  front  of 
his  capital,  carrying  off  his  wife,  children,  and  gods,  and  a 
vast  number  of  prisoners,  in,  112  ;  took  and  sent  Zakhiru 
captive  to  Assyria,  but  was  foiled  in  the  siege  of  Sapiya, 
and  ravaged  the  surrounding  country,  112,  113  ;  proclaimed 
king  of  Babylon,  and  instituted  festivals  to  the  great  gods 
in  the  principal  cities,  113,  114. 

Tower  of  Babel,  notices  of,  53,  n. 

Tugulti-Ninip,  son  of  Shalmaneser,  annexed  Babylonia,  and 
took  the  titles  of  "  King  of  Assyria,"  "  Conqueror  of  Kar- 
duniyas,"  and  "  King  of  Sumir  and  Akkad,"  but  the 
Babylonians  regained  their  independence  shortly  after  his 
death,  88,  89. 

ULBAR-SARKI-IDINA  succeeded  by  his  two  brothers,  98,  99. 

Umman-Aldas,  king  of  Elam,  murdered  by  his  brothers,  Urtaki 
and  Te-umman,  for  refusing  to  make  war  on  Esar-haddon, 
when  the  former  assumed  the  crown,  but  did  not  follow  his 
own  previous  policy,  141. 


192  HISTORY  OF   BABYLONIA. 

Umman-Aldas,  an  Elamite  commander,  killed  Inda-bigas,  and 
mounted  the  throne  ;  gave  up  the  dead  body  of  Nabu-bel- 
zikri  and  the  head  of  his  armour-bearer  to  Assur-bani-pal's 
envoys,  148. 

Umman-igas,  bribed  by  Saul-mugina  to  join  the  confederacy 
against  the  Assyrians,  sent  his  army  to  Babylon,  when  his 
son,  Tammaritu,  rebelled,  defeated  the  royal  troops,  and 
sent  his  head  as  a  present  to  Assur-bani-pal,  and  assumed 
the  crown  of  Elam,  145,  146. 

Ur  (Mugheir)  succeeded  Nipur  as  the  capital  of  South  Chaldrea, 
63,  64 ;  outside  the  walls  filled  with  graves  of  all  ages ; 
probably  the  birth-place  of  Abraham ;  devoted  to  the 
worship  of  the  moon-god,  65 ;  first  ruler,  perhaps,  Lig- 
Bagas,  66,  n.  ;  high  state  of  its  arts,  learning,  and  civiliza- 
tion ;  carving,  cylindrical  seals,  inscriptions ;  language 
generally  Semitic,  but  Accadian  still  used  ;  religion  highly 
poetic  with  respect  to  rank,  descent,  and  local  character  of 
deities,  67,  68  ;  the  great  gods  Ann,  Bel,  and  Hea,  68. 

Ur-hamsi  cures  Izdubar,  61. 

Urtaki,  king  of  Elam,  joined  Bel-basa,  and  some  petty  chiefs  in 
a  plundering  expedition  into  Babylonia,  which  alarmed 
Saul-mugina,  142,  143  ;  the  Elamites  were  pursued  whilst 
retreating  with  the  spoil,  routed  and  driven  across  the  fron- 
tiers by  Assur-bani-pal,  who  soon  afterwards  conquered 
the  country,  and  placed  Umman-igas  on  the  throne  as  a 
tributary,  143. 

VUL-NIRARI  III.,  engaged  several  years  in  wars  with  Syria, 
Media,  Dur,  and  Ituha,  108. 

Vul-pal-idina  restored  the  walls  of  Nipur,  and  rebuilt  the  temple 
at  Kisu,  100. 

Vul-zakir-uzur  had  some  disputes  with  his  Assyrian  contem- 
poraries, 100. 

WINGED  Monster  slain  by  Izdubar  and  Heabani,  57. 

XISITHRUS,  XISUTHRUS,  BASIS-AURA,  the  Babylonian  Noah, 
38,  n.  ;  residence,  53. 

ZABU,  the  builder  of  the  temples  of  Samas  and  Anunit  at 
Sippara,  75. 

Zamama-zikir-idina  unable  to  repress  the  raids  of  the  Elamites 
and  Assyrians,  94,  95. 


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